


The Sound of a Heartbeat

by gertie_flirty



Series: Listen and You Will Hear [1]
Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 72,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24536932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gertie_flirty/pseuds/gertie_flirty
Summary: After the events in Jusendo and a failed wedding, Ryoga has moved on from his crush on Akane. Ranma, however, is still sorting out his feelings. Ryoga helps him enact a plan to solve all his problems. But when a new danger threatens Akane's life, they discover that happy endings are even harder to earn than they thought.
Relationships: Saotome Ranma/Tendou Akane
Series: Listen and You Will Hear [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1802869
Comments: 24
Kudos: 77





	1. Lost Boy Found

“We’re out of soy sauce.”

Ryoga looked up from where he was sitting on the floor, playing tug of war with Shirokuro using one of his bandanas. Akari smiled at him from the kitchen doorway, holding up an empty bottle. 

“Ah, no problem, I’ll go to the store then.” Ryoga stretched and climbed to his feet, giving his dog a pat on the head. Akari and her family had been kind enough to let him and his pet stay at their farm for the past few weeks, although her parents zealously kept watch over the guest room door at night to make sure the young couple remained sleeping separately until marriage. Still, it was nice to have a warm place to sleep every night, and the closer he became to Akari, the bigger his heart grew. 

As he approached the front door and opened it, Akari stopped him. “Wait.”

“What is it?”

She hefted his large rucksack with sleeping roll attached. “Take your pack.”

“Heh,” Ryoga scoffed. “Don’t worry, Akari, the store is less than a mile away. It’s impossible for even me to get lost.”

He grinned, and gave a thumbs up, jabbing it backwards at his own chest confidently. 

Akari paused, and a blank yet severe stare came over her face. “Take the pack.”

One week later, Ryoga was glad he listened.

He knew he was in trouble when, instead of the store, he ended up in a dense thicket. Deliberately re-orienting himself, he turned around and walked in the direction he had come. Now it was morning, in a strange unfamiliar city, and he had set up camp in an empty lot.

 _Akari-san knows me so well. Without her I wouldn’t have even had my tent._ The fond thought gave him pause. Perhaps his affections for her had progressed further than he had expected. He smiled as he tried to light his campfire. He opened his provisions container and found it empty. _Now if only I could figure where in this town I could get some food._

“Ryoga?” 

Ryoga looked up at the sound of his name. Ranma stood at the opening of the empty lot, next to the decaying stone fence. He was dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and jogging pants, no doubt out for an early run. 

“Ranma? Oh no, is this Nerima?”

Ranma glanced to his right, then to his left. “Yeah, man.”

Ryoga sighed deeply. There was no way he would be able to find his way back to Akari’s house from here. Worst of all, he was hungry. His stomach growled deeply.

Ranma, hearing it, smirked. “You want some breakfast?”

* * *

“So, Ryoga-kun, you were just looking for soy sauce?”

“Mmm,” Ryoga nodded at Kasumi’s question, shoveling rice into his mouth. He set his bowl down and chuckled nervously. “It appears they moved the location of the store.”

“Just admit you got lost,” Ranma interjected, sitting down beside him. He had changed into his typical outfit for school. 

“Either way, when I called Akari, she asked if I would stay here until she came to get me. It might be a few weeks, and Tendo-san, I hate to impose--”

“You can stay here, son,” said Soun over his own bowl of food. “This house will be emptying out soon enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“He means,” said Nabiki, as she entered the room, also taking a seat at the table. “That I’ll be away at university in two weeks.”

Tears sprang forth from Soun’s eyes as he pulled Nabiki into a tight hug. “My little girl is leaving me!”

“Get over it, Daddy,” Nabiki said, trying to push him away. “I’m eighteen now, in America I’d be a legal adult.”

“Well thank goodness we don’t live in such a heathen nation as that,” Soun sobbed, holding her tighter. 

“Where’s Akane?” asked Ryoga, looking around. 

“She already left for school,” replied Kasumi.

“She didn’t wait for you, Ranma?” Ryoga asked.

Ranma set his bowl on the table gently, resulting in a soft clink. Looking down, he said in a low tone, “She never waits for me anymore.”

Ryoga stared at him, his brow knitting together in confusion. Ranma wouldn’t look up to meet his gaze, but poked at his bowl of rice with his chopsticks without eating. 

“Ah, Ranma, look at the time! You’ll be late!” his mother said, handing him his school bag. 

“You’re right, mom! Gotta go!” He shoved a hunk of bread in his mouth and hopped to his feet. With his cheeks full he added, “I’ll see ya after school, Ryoga!”

With a wave, and a jump over the back fence, he was gone. 

  
  


* * *

Finding things to do while Ranma was at school proved difficult. Ryoga watched Genma and Soun play match after match of shogi. Both men were extremely poor losers, and their whining became tiresome very quickly. He offered Kasumi and Nodoka help with housework, but they continuously refused him. He tried working out in the yard, but after a thousand or so push-ups, he grew bored of that too. After lunch, he once again offered help to Kasumi and Nodoka. Kasumi waved him away politely, but Nodoka finally took him up on it.

“Here,” she said, handing him a large wicker basket full of damp clothes. “You can hang up the laundry to dry.”

“Oh,” Ryoga paused, lifting the basket with ease. It was an easy task, but even though he was happy with Akari, the thought of possibly touching Akane’s, or even Kasumi’s or Nabiki’s, underwear made him uncomfortable.

Reading the look on his face, Nodoka smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s just my husband and son’s clothes.”

Ryoga nodded with relief and walked over to the clothesline. He and Ranma’s mother had never interacted much, but she seemed like a nice and surprisingly shrewd person. She and Ranma also looked extremely alike, even when Ranma was in his male form. 

As he started sorting through the clothes and lifting them up to be hung, he took notice of how many rips and tears had been mended and patched on nearly every item belonging to Ranma. The familiar silk Chinese style shirts were pretty threadbare, some more replacement stitching than original fabric. Ryoga had learned to mend his own clothes, being out on the road so much, and he couldn’t help but admire the stitchwork. He wondered who had done such a fine job. Surely Ranma’s mother had done some, but some of the stitching was clearly older than when she had begun living with them. Akane, as much as he cared about her, was all thumbs when it came to needlework, and honestly so was Ranma himself. 

It must have been Kasumi, he thought. But to take so much time and care into repairing the clothes of a guy who was just going to get them all ripped up again, showed a surprising amount of patience and affection. 

Ryoga paused while hanging up the last shirt, a clothespin sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Ranma had a whole house full of people who loved him. But did he really even deserve it?

He let out a long sigh, fastened the last clothespin to the shirt on the line, and carried the basket back into the house. 

* * *

“I’m home!”

Akane’s voice called out from the front door. Ryoga, watching Genma and Soun playing yet another match of shogi, jumped up immediately, eager to at least have someone new to talk to. He met her in the entryway, as she was slipping off her school shoes and changing into her house slippers. 

“Welcome home, Akane-san.”

“Ryoga-kun? I didn’t know you were here.” She reached out to steady herself on the nearby wall as she moved one foot behind the other to press down on the heel as she took her shoe off.

“Didn’t Ranma tell you?”

Akane shrugged. “I didn’t speak to him today.”

Ryoga looked at her face, hunting for any signs of annoyance or anger. There were none. She seemed completely passive. 

“Well, I’ll be staying here for several weeks, if that’s all right.”

“Sure!” Akane smiled, the same bright warm smile he had known and cherished for years. “We always like having you.”

“Really?” Ryoga thought of the multiple times he had literally broken through their walls, or thrown pieces of rubble at Ranma. Still, Akane seemed genuine. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“I’m home!” This was Ranma, sliding open the front door behind Akane.

Her smile faded at the sound of his voice, but again, she didn’t look angry or annoyed, simply neutral. “I’m going to change. I’ll see you later, Ryoga-kun.”

Without even turning to look at Ranma, she walked upstairs, carrying her school bag. 

Ryoga turned and watched her go, standing next to Ranma. After she reached the crest of the stairs and disappeared down the hallway, he asked, “Does Akane-san seem weird to you?”

“She’s been like that for weeks,” said Ranma. There was a hint of sadness in his voice. “Even when she talks to me, she’s just polite, doesn’t even yell at me anymore. Not like I see her much.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“She locks herself up in the dojo for hours everyday, alone. Sometimes until late at night. She even fell asleep in class today.”

“That’s not like her.”

“I know, but--” Ranma shrugged, stretched, put his arms behind his head. “She won’t even listen to me. And she acts normal and friendly with everyone else.”

Akane reappeared at the top of the stairs. She had changed into what were clearly workout clothes, a slim fitted t-shirt tucked into high-waisted, cuffed sweatpants. Ryoga was surprised she wasn’t in her usual gi. As she descended the stairs, she gave Ryoga a warm smile. 

“I’m going to train. I’ll see you at dinner, Ryoga-kun.”

Ryoga nodded, and Akane gave him a small wave before she turned to head down the hallway towards the back door. Ryoga glanced over at Ranma, who was staring at the ground, looking dejected. Ryoga realized Akane hadn’t acknowledged Ranma at all, not even with teasing or a rude remark. 

“Ranma,” Ryoga scratched his chin, searching for something to say. At a loss, he simply asked, “Do you want to have a sparring match?”

A glint of the heat of challenge flashed in Ranma’s eyes, but it quickly faded. “Nah, I think I’m just gonna do my homework.”

He stepped up from the entryway into the hallway and walked to his room, leaving Ryoga to stare after him, stunned. 

Homework?! Something really weird was going on around here. 

* * *

Dinner was mostly normal. Ryoga had begged Kasumi to let him do something as he couldn’t watch another damned shogi match and Ranma hadn’t come out of his room in hours. She finally allowed him to chop the vegetables for the salad. When they brought the dishes out, Ranma ran into the room at that exact moment and he and his father engaged in their typical fight over the best pieces of meat. Ryoga had experienced several meals in the Tendo household by this point and was pretty used to this behavior.

The one difference was Akane, who appeared shortly after Ranma did, still in her training clothes, covered in a light sheen of sweat. Without a word, she took a seat and began scarfing down as much of the food in front of her as she could grapple away from the Saotomes. Ryoga stared at her, blinking, but she didn’t even notice. Typically Akane had a fairly small appetite, especially when compared to Ranma. Now she was packing away nearly three times the amount she regularly did. 

Ryoga then noticed that there had been more plates and bowls of food set out than normal. It seemed as though Kasumi had expected and accounted for this new behavior of her little sister’s. 

After a few minutes, Akane set down her empty rice bowl and bowed her head. “Thank you for the meal. It was great.” She stood, stretching out her arms. “I’m going back to training.”

Ryoga scratched his cheek with one finger, thinking for a moment. As she was about to exit, he said, “Akane-san, do you want to have a sparring match with me?”

She looked over her shoulder and smiled brightly. “Sure!”

Neither one of them noticed Ranma giving them a dark glare as they walked out of the room. 

* * *

There was nothing odd about the dojo.

After knowing that Akane had locked herself in here for hours, Ryoga was suspicious. But nothing had changed from the last time he had seen it. It was mostly empty, although Akane had put the mats out on the floor, covering most of the hardwood. A pile of workout equipment and freeweights were stacked messily along one wall, as usual. The _iroha_ sign hung on the wall, perfectly straight. 

Ryoga walked to the middle of the floor, still looking around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, and yet still felt uneasy. 

“Ready, Ryoga-kun?” Akane’s gentle, friendly voice from behind him.

“Sure,” he replied, turning around, although he felt more uncertain than he ever had in his life. 

He readied his stance, extending his right leg back, but only slightly, as his intent was to dodge most of Akane’s attacks. Still smiling, she took her own stance, her shoulders out, her arms away from her body, definitely on the offense. 

Ryoga frowned. Now _this_ was different. He had seen her fight before, and her opening stance was usually much lower to the ground. This stance looked familiar though, but he couldn’t quite place where he had seen it before. 

“Let’s begin!” She called out, rushing forward. 

And she was quick, much quicker than he had seen her before, although he was still able to dodge her opening punch. She didn’t hesitate a second as she pivoted on her left foot, and he dodged again, expecting a kick from her right. But she had spun completely around and down low and came up with a right uppercut, clipping him on the chin. There was a surprising amount of force behind it. Not anything like being hit over and over again with giant boulders, or a similar punch from Ranma, but it would’ve busted the jaw of nearly anyone else he had fought in his life.

He stumbled back in shock. Akane took no time to close the gap, and this time she did kick, but she didn’t get enough air and her leg was too short to connect before he weaved out of the way. 

Akane’s smile finally faded. “Don’t just dodge me, that’s what Ranma does,” she growled. 

He crossed his arms in an x-shape in front of him to block her next punch. Which she then used to her advantage to kick in the direction of his ribs, and this time the kick connected. 

And Ryoga, tough as he was, felt a momentary hitch in his side and let out a small cough due to shortness of breath. 

This brought the smile back to Akane’s face. Ryoga shook his head and refocused. This wasn’t the fight he had expected, but he could adapt.

“Akane-san, you’ve really improved,” he said, blocking her volley of punches. 

“Thanks,” she beamed, spinning into a roundhouse kick. He again blocked, but it didn’t seem to faze her.

“Have you been training with Ranma?”

This brought her to a complete standstill. Her feet snapped together on the ground. Fists clenched at her sides, she said, almost spitting the words, “Why on earth would I train with Ranma?”

“I just thought, well-- “ He let his voice trail off as he crossed his arms over his chest, awkwardly staring at the wall.

“Well what?” she demanded.

“I thought, after the wedding, the two of you might be, I don’t know, getting along better?”

Akane stiffened. Ryoga knew that their wedding had been interrupted by various parties, himself included. But she had been in a wedding dress, and Ranma had been in a tux, and he had figured the two of them had at least wanted to get married. Just all the, you know, literal bombs had gotten in the way. 

After a long, pensive silence, she scoffed and socked him in the jaw. The shock of it more than the force knocked him down to his rear. He sat up and stared after her as she turned away, sliding open the dojo door.

Pausing, she turned back to Ryoga. “Trust me, Ryoga. Ranma made it very clear after that wedding that he has no interest in getting along.”

"Why do you think that?” Ryoga asked from the ground.

The rage seemed to leave her face all in one go, and the neutral look he had witnessed earlier returned. 

“Isn’t it obvious?” she shrugged. “He doesn’t love me.”

She left, sliding the dojo door shut behind her. 

* * *

Ranma, alone on the roof, unwrapped the small box he had brought up with him. It was a warm night in early spring, so he had decided to take advantage of the nice weather and get some alone time. Besides, he didn’t want his old man seeing what he had in the box. 

Sweet red-bean mochi.

His mother had made a large batch, and Ranma had managed to hide away half a dozen to eat as dessert. If his father was there, he would have managed to eat it all before Ranma even had one. Picking the first small fat disc out of the box, he sighed contentedly to himself. 

_BAM!_

Ryoga had punched him, hard, causing his mochi to go flying.

“What’d you do that for?” Ranma rubbed his sore jaw and stared at the other boy.

Ryoga took a seat beside him on the roof, crossing his legs, closing his eyes, putting his hands on his knees almost as if meditating. After a long pause, he crossed his arms.

“Ranma, you are unbelievable, do you know that?”

“Me? You’re the one who ruined my dessert!”

Ryoga tightened the grip on his own arms, fingers digging into his biceps through his shirt sleeves. “This isn’t about food, you idiot!”

“Well, what is it about then?”

“It’s about Akane!”

Ranma took on a different posture, hands on his lap, and turned towards Ryoga. Voice low, he asked, “What about Akane?”

“I did your laundry today, Ranma.” 

“W-what?” Ranma asked, extremely confused.

“I didn’t wash it, just hung it up to dry.” Ryoga looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, and everything was a purple hazy color, and not even the first stars were visible through the ambient city lights. “Every single thing you own has been mended, over and over.”

“Okay?” said Ranma warily. 

“My parents love me, don’t get me wrong. But we’re rarely ever all home at the same time. You live in a house full of people who love you. You live in this house, full of people who center their lives around your bullshit.”

“Now wait a minute--”

“Do you know why I haven’t been here in over a month, Ranma?”

“I figured you couldn’t find the place.”

Ryoga shook his head. “I gave up on Akane. Completely.”

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. “Well, that’s good I guess.”

_BAM!_

Ryoga had punched him in the face again, without moving from his seated position. 

“Hey---”

“Don’t you even want to know why?”

“Finally got a clue, huh?”

“Yes, actually.”

Ranma blinked in surprise at Ryoga’s earnestness. 

Ryoga continued. “Do you remember what happened in China?”

“Of course I do,” Ranma mumbled. He didn’t want to remember. He tried to shove those memories out of his head every waking second of the day, but that didn’t stop the nightmares.

“When you thought Akane had died--”

Ranma felt his heart sink in his chest and shut his eyes tight, not replying, but still listening.

“I saw a broken man. When she seemed to disappear right in front of our eyes, you looked as if the life had been sapped out of you as well. And then later, when you held her in your arms, when she wasn’t moving--”

Ranma shook his head, his eyes still shut. He didn’t want to think about it. He _couldn’t_ think about it. 

“And I realized, then and there, I could never love her half as much as you do.”

Ranma’s eyes opened then, wide as saucers, and he turned to Ryoga in shock. 

Ryoga was smiling at him sadly. “Ranma, after all those times you came close to losing her, aren’t you worried you might have lost her for good?”

Ranma spoke, a lump in his throat. “Why would you say that?”

“Ranma.” Ryoga’s voice was so calm, so steady, he could hardly believe it himself. “She said that you don’t love her.”

“How can she--” Ranma stopped himself from saying anymore. Just like he always stopped himself. At least when it came to this, he kept his big mouth shut. Clenching his jaw, he shook his head fiercely. “You just don’t understand, Ryoga.”

He threw the box with the remainder of the mochi at Ryoga’s chest and hopped down from the roof, not wanting to hear what his friend had to say in return.

Ryoga looked down at the box of mochi, poked one gently with his finger, picked it up, and took a bite. 

_Pretty good. Ranma doesn’t know what he’s missing_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a spotify playlist of songs that are referenced in the story, or remind of this fic, the show itself, or just the feel of watching 90's anime. It can be listened to here, if you'd like:
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7HRQKUnArPutjPMlXaUjl9?si=TSNwgl0iSoaq6eond8Uszw


	2. All Good Plans Need a Plan

After hopping down from the roof, Ranma stormed over to the dojo. It was empty and dark as he slid the door open, which was good as he wanted to be alone. Akane had been hogging the place--

No, he didn’t need to think about Akane. He needed to train, properly. He flipped on the lights, pausing to take in the very faint hum of electricity. The floor was covered in training mats, and he started folding them and stacking them against the wall.

It wasn’t a difficult task, but it was a tedious one. Why did Akane have all these stupid things down in the first place? What was she doing--

No! He shook his head, desperately trying again to clear his head. It didn’t matter. Wasn’t a big deal. 

He strode out to the middle of the room, feeling the cool hardwood beneath his bare feet. As always, it was smooth and dust free. The cool air of a spring evening wafted in through the doorway, ruffling the hair around his neckline, his braid gently swaying as he took a ready stance. 

Elbows in. Feet apart. Palms up.

He looked up at the sign hanging on the wall.

 _I ro ha_. 

Fundamentals.

He moved through the first kata seamlessly. Although it was a series of moves he had been performing as long as he could walk, he knew it was always best to begin at the beginning. 

There were a total of 108 kata traditionally associated with the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. He worked his way through all of them as they gradually increased in difficulty. Although for Ranma they were still no real challenge, he realized certain muscles of his were stiff and out of use. 

He finished the 108th move of the 108th kata, backflipping and landing on his feet, and realized he had worked up a bit of a sweat. He grabbed his shirt by the bottom hem and yanked it up over his head, turning it inside out as he did so. His fingers caught on an unusual texture and he pulled it the rest of the way off and held it up to look at it.

The shoulder seams, both of them, had been mended. And remended. There were at least three slightly differently colored strands of thread holding his shirt together. 

_You live in a house full of people who love you._

Ranma sank to the floor on his knees. 

He thought of this morning. Of his father jostling him for extra food. Soun crying over his daughter leaving for university. Kasumi smiling gently as she set out breakfast. His mother, making sure his school bag was packed and handing it to him, knowing where his hand would be as he rushed out of the door. Even Ryoga, making polite small talk with everyone as they all ate breakfast together.

He had a family here. A family bigger than one he had ever known. The Tendo household had been his residence for longer than anywhere he had ever lived in his whole life. It was loud, and it was full, and it was warm. And it was home. But it was only home because--

He fell backwards, lying down flat on the floor, clutching his shirt to his chest. Shutting his eyes tight, he tried, again, to block out the thought of--

No. No, no, no. 

_She thinks that you don’t love her._

How could she think that? After all they had been through. After everything that had happened. 

He remembered today, how easily, and kindly, she had smiled at Ryoga after he asked her to spar. When was the last time she had smiled at him like that? Had smiled at him at all?

He knew when. When she had been standing in front of him in a wedding dress, asking if he loved her. 

And he said--well, not no, not exactly. 

But not yes either. 

He opened his eyes, staring up at the lights in the ceiling of the dojo. He let his hands fall to his sides, releasing the grip on his shirt. He ran his fingertips over the smooth floorboards.

She had almost died. _Akane_ , he thought, allowed himself to think, finally, _almost died_. 

And he had held her to him, willing her to wake up. Wake up so he could tell her the truth. How much he hated himself for never telling her before. How could he not tell her now?

He flattened his palms against the floor, trying to steady himself even though he was lying flat. This place was his home. 

But it was only his home because Akane was here. 

He sat up, feeling a new fire spark in his chest. These past few weeks, he had felt lost, and he knew now it was because Akane had withdrawn. And he deserved it. 

An inkling of an idea was forming in his brain. Something vague, and there would be a lot of different factors. And worst of all--

He clutched his head in his hands.

Worst of all, he would need Ryoga’s help. 

* * *

The next day was Saturday, and everyone was home. Furinkan High had done away with Saturday classes quite a while ago, as the repair costs caused by a good portion of their students and faculty meant there had to be serious adjustments to the budget. 

Ranma certainly wasn’t complaining. The less school, the better.

“But Nabiki, why do you have to start packing now? Graduation isn’t even until Thursday!” Soun had forsaken reading the paper like he normally did in the mornings in order to sob while following his daughter around as she brought boxes down from her room to set in the foyer. 

Now they were both standing in the entrance of the living room, Nabiki with one hand on her hip, rolling her eyes. “Daddy, I don’t want to be rushing around last second to get all of my things together.”

“But look at the precious items you’re taking from the house, like--” He dug deep into an open box he was holding and pulled out a small object. “This!”

Nabiki sighed. “That’s a tape dispenser, Daddy.”

Ranma couldn’t help but smile as he sat quietly behind the dining table. Kasumi elegantly wove around her father and sister while carrying various plates of breakfast food. She had prepared a western style breakfast this morning, with french toast, scrambled eggs, and heaps of sausage. Ranma helped take them from her and set them on the table.

“Well, thank you Ranma,” said Kasumi in a pleasantly surprised tone.

“No problem.” He gave her a half grin which quickly faded as his father shoved him out of the way to get at the giant plate of sausage. 

“Outta my way boy, I’m starving!”

“My dear husband, perhaps it’s better if you slowed down on the greasy food? Your heartburn kept you quite restless last night.” Nodoka, who had a pair of Ranma’s pants in her hands, along with a needle and thread dangling from her mouth, gave her a husband a gentle yet firm smile.

Genma sighed and straightened his posture, slowing his eating. “Yes, dear.”

Ranma raised one eyebrow. When they had first moved back into the Tendo household after his mother’s house had been destroyed, his parents had been quite distant. Recently they seemed to be getting closer.

And now his dad was actually listening to his mom. The world was really changing all around him.

“G’morning,” Ryoga mumbled, as he padded into the room, bleary-eyed. 

A chorus of good mornings echoed in return as Ryoga plopped down at the table. 

Ranma turned to him and cleared his throat. “Ryoga, I was wondering--”

“Good morning everyone!” Akane entered the room, dressed in her jogging clothes and smiling brightly. Ranma couldn’t help but be struck silent as he watched her take a few steps in, her hair bouncing around her face. The strings of her hoodie were uneven and he had the urge to reach up and fix them. 

She didn’t look at Ranma at all, but she did notice her father, crumpled on the floor, crying his eyes out. “Dad, what’s wrong?”

“Your sister wants to take this away from me!” he wailed, holding his hands up to show her what he was holding.

She blinked “It’s a tape dispenser.”

“He’s having a hard time letting go,” Nabiki said coolly, and took a seat at the table. 

“Of a tape dispenser?” asked Akane, taking a seat next to her.

Ranma watched Akane sit, and Ryoga watched Ranma watching Akane sit. 

“Of my daughter!” shouted Soun through his tears, pulling Nabiki to his chest in a tight hug, in a similar scene as the day before. 

“Nodoka-san,” Kasumi said in a bright tone to Ranma’s mother. “Would you be able to cook dinner tonight? I am going out.”

“Sure, Kasumi,” replied Nodoka, taking a bite of cooked egg. “May I ask what’s the occasion?”

Kasumi smiled. “I have a date.”

“A DATE?” Everyone in the room responded in shock.

“With who?” demanded Soun, releasing Nabiki from his grip. 

“Tofu-sensei,” Kasumi responded calmly, taking a sip of tea. 

“Tofu . . .?” asked Soun.

“ . . . Sensei?” finished Nabiki. 

“Can’t believe that old dog finally worked up the courage,” commented Ranma. 

“Me neither,” breathed Akane, staring at her sister. 

Ranma felt his heart flutter at this long-awaited, although tiny, bit of agreement from Akane. 

“Have I met this guy?” asked Ryoga, chewing on a piece of sausage. 

“I think so. . .?” replied Ranma.

“Kasumi, you have to let me help you get ready!” Akane said, beaming with excitement. She was piling food on her plate without even looking, her body bouncing slightly in place. 

“Ooh, me too!” said Nabiki. “We can spend the day finding the perfect outfit!”

“I thought you had to spend the day packing,” said Ranma.

Nabiki waved a hand at him. “There’s plenty of time. Graduation isn’t until Thursday.”

  
“Finally, some sense!” Soun’s tears turned to those of joy as he clutched the tape dispenser to his chest. 

* * *

After breakfast, Ranma and Ryoga helped Nodoka clear the table and wash dishes as the three Tendo sisters rushed upstairs with giddiness. It started with Nodoka washing, Ranma drying, and Ryoga putting away, but when Ryoga frequently kept turning to the wrong cabinets, he and Ranma switched duties. 

“Ranma, you’ve been so helpful today,” his mother commented, scrubbing at a dish in the sink. “It’s quite nice.”

“Well, I should help more,” replied Ranma, stacking a clean plate away in the cupboard. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Ryoga turned to him, raising his eyebrows, but Ranma didn’t return the look. The three continued their work until it was done, Nodoka humming a tune softly as they cleaned. Afterwards, Ranma did manage to pull Ryoga aside and asked if they could talk.

“Sure,” said Ryoga, intrigued but confused.

They tried to meet in the dojo, but Akane was already in there hammering away at a practice dummy. Judging from all the yelling, they boys figured that while helping Kasumi prepare for her date, Akane had found a mountain of her own clothes inside Nabiki’s room, just waiting to be packed away to university. They had fought and now Akane was working out her frustrations with great vigor.

Ryoga suggested the roof, but Ranma said it wouldn’t be private enough. Finally they decided on the small storage shed next to the dojo. It was full of old cleaning supplies, holiday decorations, various yard equipment, and tools needed for repairs. Nonetheless, they managed to move things around enough that they had room to sit in the dim shack, awkwardly bent over boxes and storage containers. 

“So what’s up Ranma? What do you want to talk about?”

Ranma rubbed his chin. This was so hard for him to say. The words felt stuck in his throat. He just had to make himself say it. 

“You were right.”

“I was?” Ryoga blinked. “About what?”

The steam escaped from Ranma all in one go. “What do you mean about what? About everything! All that junk you said last night!”

“Oh,” replied Ryoga. “I was?”

Ranma threw his hands up in the air. “Were you just guessing or something?”

“No, I had a point to make,” Ryoga crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. “I’m just really surprised you would say I was right about anything, ever.”

“I say you’re right about stuff all the time.”

“Really? When?”

“This time.” replied Ranma firmly. “Look, I’m trying to tell you that I--”

“Yes?”

“You know, that I--”

“That you?”

“That I--” Ranma jerked his head down sharply, looking away. “I love Akane.”

Ryoga was silent for a long while. So was Ranma. He couldn’t believe he had finally said it, out loud, in front of another person. Too bad that person was Ryoga. The other guy who loved Akane. 

It was forever before Ryoga replied. 

“You know, Ranma,” he began, clearing his throat. “I’ve moved on from Akane. But still, I thought when I heard you say that, I would feel jealous. But I don’t.”

“You don’t?”

“No.” Ryoga shook his head. “Because the look you have on your face right now is the same look you had in China, when you were holding Akane in your arms.”

Ranma didn’t say anything. What could he say? He didn’t even want to think about it. He only knew that he had to move forward. 

“So,” said Ryoga. “What are you going to do now?”

Ranma perked up immediately. “I have a plan!”

He dug around in the shed and pulled a large pad of paper and a marker. Ryoga was quite confused at how he was able to find them so quickly.

“Oh, what’s the plan?”

Ranma set up the pad of paper vertically and opened the cover to the first blank page. “My plan is . . . to have you think of a plan!”

“That’s not a plan at all,” Ryoga replied tersely. 

“Sure it is!” Ranma defended himself. “Probably the best plan I ever thought of.”

Ryoga sighed. “Somehow your confidence never wavers as long as it should.”

“Damn right,” Ranma said proudly. 

With a glare, Ryoga took the marker from him and walked over to the pad of paper. Considering it carefully, he uncapped the marker and wrote at the top of the page: “TOP SECRET R+A = LOVE PLAN”

“Solid,” said Ranma. “I love it.”

“I haven’t written out the steps yet,” Ryoga growled. “First of all, we need to establish your main problems. What are the issues standing in the way of you and Akane?”

Ranma looked upward, pursing his lips together. “Firstly, Tatewaki Kuno. And also his sister, Kodachi.”

“All right,” Ryoga wrote a 1 and 2 on the paper with the Kuno siblings’ names next to each. “What else?”

“Shampoo,” Ranma answered quickly, puffing out his cheeks with air as he exhaled. 

Ryoga wrote the third item on the list. “Okay and?”

“And,” Ranma squirmed a little at his final answer. “Ucchan.”

 _Ukyo_ , Ryoga wrote after the number four. “Anything else?”

Ranma paused, then shook his head. “That’s it.”

Ryoga doubted it, but put a cap on the marker anyway. This was, at least, a good start. “All right, so we’ve identified the problems. Now we just have to develop a way to solve the problems.”

“Which is what you’re here for,” Ranma said boldly, making a finger gun motion. 

Ryoga rolled his eyes, but took a seat next to Ranma on top of the storage container the other boy was sitting on. The two of them stared at the paper in front of them, both deep in thought. Neither one of them was particularly good at this sort of thing, but Ryoga was a little bit better. 

“I think,” he said slowly. “I think I might have a little bit of an idea.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but I have to ask Nabiki a question first.”

* * *

“Kuno-chan?” 

Nabiki stood in the hallway in front of Kasumi’s door. The door itself was partially cracked. Apparently Nabiki and Akane had made up, as Ranma could see through the crack a reflection of Akane and Kasumi in a vanity mirror. Akane was tenderly brushing her sister’s hair up, testing out different styles. The two sisters were smiling and laughing, and Ranma let his gaze linger on Akane’s reflection, pretending just for a second that she was smiling at him.

“Ranma, did you hear that?” 

Ryoga’s question snapped him out of his reverie. “Hmm? What?”

“I said,” Nabiki sighed and rolled her eyes. “That Kuno-chan is going to the same university as me after graduation.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Dumb as he may be in interpersonal relations, he’s always had really good marks. He passed his exam easy-peasy.”

“That’s good news, Ranma, he’ll be away at university and out of your hair.”

“Doubtful,” Nabiki snorted. “He plans to helicopter in and out of campus everyday.”

“What?”

“He’s really that rich, huh,” mumbled Ryoga under his breath. “Well, thanks anyway.”

“Sure,” said Nabiki, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. “Why did you--”

“Nabiki? We need your help!” It was Akane’s voice, giggling from inside the bedroom. Just the sound of it sent a tingle through Ranma’s chest. 

Without a parting word, Nabiki returned to Kasumi’s room and shut the door. 

“Well that sucks,” Ranma groaned. “That guy is still gonna be here every day. Bothering me AND Akane.”

Ryoga chuckled. “Don’t worry, Ranma. This doesn’t affect my original plan at all.”

“Really?”

Ryoga nodded as the two headed down the stairs. “Really. In fact, I think I can knock out two of your problems in one go.”

* * *

Unfortunately, their plans were put on hold for quite a while.

First came that night, and Kasumi’s date. The entire household was eager to see what, exactly, would happen when the good doctor arrived. Ranma, his parents, Soun, and Ryoga gathered in the entryway, huddled by the bottom of the stairs. As the time for the date neared, Nabiki and Akane appeared at the top of the stairs, both in beautiful dresses, hair and makeup done.

“Surprise!” They called out smiling in unison.

“What’s this? Do the two of you have dates as well?” Soun asked, bravely trying to hold back tears. 

“Of course not!” Akane replied as she and Nabiki descended.

“Kasumi felt a bit nervous about the dress she was wearing, so we dressed up too to help her feel more comfortable.” Nabiki said. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she gave a twirl, showing how low her dress was cut in the back. “Although I don’t know how she could top this.”

“Nabiki, is this that really appropriate?” Soun demanded.

“Get with the times, Daddy.”

As the two continued their argument over whether or not the dress was or was not too revealing, Akane walked over to the rest of the group, ending up standing between Ryoga and Ranma. Ranma hadn’t taken his eyes off of her the entire time. He had seen her wear this particular dress before, the dainty off the shoulder number she had worn to the park once during--? What was that scheme about--? He couldn’t remember the circumstances. But he remembered the dress. 

“You look really nice, Akane,” he said softly.

She looked up at him, her brow furrowed. “Thanks?”

He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by the knock at the door. Everyone froze and looked over. 

After an oddly long silence, Ryoga rolled his eyes and said, “Come in!”

The door slid open, revealing Tofu, dressed in a smart suit, holding a bouquet of flowers. He smiled and waved. “Hello everyone!”

“Hi,” they all replied dumbly in unison. 

“Kasumi isn’t quite ready yet,” said Akane. 

“If she’s wearing a dress like Nabiki’s he might kill us all,” Soun muttered.

“Oh, grow up Daddy!” Nabiki stomped her foot.

Akane interjected, “She has a point, Dad--”

While they erupted into an argument again, Ranma turned to Tofu, grinning.

“Sensei, I have to admit, I didn’t think you had it in ya. Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?”

“Ranma, don’t worry, I certainly understand your concerns. But I have learned how to control myself around Kasumi-san.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I simply discovered an ancient form of liquid courage. Used by the bravest warriors of old, a solution crafted for many centuries by societies all over the world.” Tofu reached behind his back and pulled out a small brown bottle, holding it out to Ranma.

Ranma looked down at it. “This is beer.”

“Exactly,” said Tofu, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Don’t worry, turns out it only took one drink to steady my nerves enough to act properly around Kasumi-san.”

“Well, I’m happy for you, I guess.” Ranma, being a total lightweight when it came to alcohol, was still skeptical, but the doctor seemed to be anxiety free as they waited. 

Not that they had to wait for long. Kasumi appeared only a few seconds later at the top of the stairs, beaming. Her long hair fell loosely in soft curls around her shoulders, her make up was subtle and flattering. Her dress was a light lilac color, with a sweetheart neckline cut not too low, although fitting her figure perfectly. She looked absolutely perfect, with a glow coming from her that seemed to be emanating from her soul itself. 

As she descended the stairs, everyone was speechless. Even Ryoga let out a low whistle of appreciation. Soun began to sob fully, clutching his hand to his mouth. 

“My little girl is a woman!”

“Oh, Kasumi-san, you look wonderful,” Nodoka commented. Her eyes also seemed to be watering. 

“Thank you so much,” said Kasumi softly.

Ranma smiled and looked back at Tofu. 

His glasses were fogged up and his jaw was hanging low enough to touch the floor. 

Ranma shook his head. “I think Mr. Tendo has more beer in the fridge.”

He quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle, paused, then grabbed two more. He twisted the cap off of one and returned to the entryway to shove the open bottle into the doctor’s hands. Tofu took it from him reflexively and chugged the entire thing down in one go. This actually seemed to work, as his posture straightened and his vision cleared. 

“These are for you, Kasumi-san,” he handed her the bouquet. 

“Oh, thank you! They’re very pretty. I should put them in water.”

“Let me do that,” said Akane, blocking her sister as she instinctively turned to tidy. “The two of you are supposed to be going out, remember?”

“Oh my, yes! Shall we, sensei?”

Tofu nodded and offered his arm.

 _I think she might actually be nervous_ , thought Ranma. 

The rest of the family waved them off with well wishes. Once the door was closed, Nabiki stretched her arms above her head. “Well, since we’re all dressed up, Akane, we should go out too.”

“Eh? I thought we were just doing this for moral support.” She clutched the bouquet to her chest, the plastic sheath making a small crinkling sound.

Nabiki grabbed her little sister’s arm. “Oh, come on, it’ll be fun! And the boys can come too!”

“Us?” Ryoga pointed at himself.

“Are you not boys?”

He and Ranma shared a glance. “Well, sometimes.”

“Absolutely not!” Soun shouted. Somehow, he managed to grab all four teenagers and hold them tightly against his chest. Crying, he continued, “I can’t have all of my children leaving me at once!”

“I am not your child!” Ryoga yelled, futilely trying to squirm out of his grasp.

“Dad, you’re squishing Kasumi’s flowers!” cried Akane.

“Ranma, your elbow is in my gut!” Nabiki whined.

“That’s not my fault!” Ranma retorted. “It’s your crazy dad!”

“Oh, you’re one to talk about crazy dads!”

“Don’t bring me into this!” Genma interjected from the sidelines. “I’m just a panda!”

“Dear, that excuse doesn’t work when you’re in your human form,” chided Nodoka. 

The entire group descended into an argument that lasted for quite a while. The girls never did manage to go out, and after pilfering a few more of Soun’s beers when he finally turned his back, ended up having a dance party alone in Nabiki’s room. The boys, despite intending on talking over their upcoming plans, ended up in a sparring match outside. Genma tried to avoid any more conflict and willingly poured a glass of cold water on himself and simply spread out on the floor as a panda. Nodoka attempted to give him a lecture about responsibility while Soun pored over photo albums of Kasumi as a baby. 

Eventually, they all tired themselves out and fell asleep before Kasumi returned home. However, Ranma awakened after a few hours of slumber, sitting straight up and panting. Another nightmare. Always the same. Always about Akane. He didn’t save her in time. She didn’t wake up. She was gone, gone, gone.

He shook his head, trying to shove the images out of his brain. Did that ever work? He couldn’t avoid thinking about it forever. 

_Sure I can_ , he thought grumpily to himself. Gently, he stood up and tiptoed around his parents. For a long time after they had moved back into the Tendo household, they had slept on either side of him, sometimes his mother reaching for him in her sleep. Lately, though, his parents had become closer and at times were even embarrassing in their affection. And tonight his mother was cuddled up against his father’s panda form, her head nestled into his stomach as he snored loudly. Ranma wasn’t sure how to feel about this new development. On one hand, it was nice to have both parents together and getting along. On the other hand, he wasn’t sure his father deserved it. 

He sleepily stumbled through the darkened house to the kitchen. There was no need to turn on any lights, he knew the way, every creaky floorboard, every small piece of furniture. Once he was in the kitchen, he retrieved a glass from the cover and filled it with water from the tap. He wasn’t even thirsty, but it was late at night, and what else was there to do?

He leaned against the counter as he sipped at the water, trying to clear his thoughts. It wasn’t often he ever had a quiet moment like this to himself. Everyone was always yelling at him.

“Ranma?”

Well, almost everyone.

“Kasumi? I didn’t hear you come in.”

She smiled at him and for a moment he thought about how much she looked like Akane. “I was trying to be quiet since it’s so late.”

“It is pretty late, huh?” He grinned. “Must have had a good time.”

Kasumi blushed and brought her hands to her cheeks. “Oh no, it wasn’t like that, well, I mean, I did have a good time, but we didn’t, oh, it was just--”

“I’m just teasing, Kasumi,” Ranma chuckled and waved his hands gently. “But did you have a good time, for real?”

She relaxed. “Oh, yes. I was so happy when he asked me to dinner. I’ve liked him for such a long time.”

“Really?” Ranma blinked. 

“Yes, wasn’t it obvious?”

He scratched his chin. “I guess I never know what girls are thinking.”

“I don’t think I can argue with you there,” she replied softly. 

He smiled, then turned and dumped out the rest of the water, rinsed his glass and set in the dishrack. “I think I’m ready to go back to bed. What about you?”

She shook her head. “I’m going to stay up for a little bit longer, I think.”

“Okay, good night, Kasumi.”

“Good night, Ranma.”

He passed her as she entered the kitchen and he exited, but he paused at the doorway. “Kasumi?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

She tilted her head. “For what?”

“For, uh,” he cleared his throat. “For being a good sister.”

She still wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but she replied anyway. “You’re welcome.”

He nodded, turned, and went to bed.


	3. Two Idiots With One Kettle

Ranma and Ryoga intended to put the first part of their plan into action the next day, but got roped into helping with the preparations for Nabiki’s graduation party that she suddenly decided she wanted. Then came the graduation itself, which Principal Kuno used to not only make an attempt at cutting off Ranma’s pigtail, but at shaving the heads of various parents as well. This caused a large scale riot, ending with Nabiki clutching her diploma over a smoldering pile of rubble and declaring that she was “glad to be free of this hellhole posing as a school.”

Then came the party itself, from which a multitude of people were banned, and showed up anyway. Shampoo tried to dance with Ranma and ended up fighting Ukyo on the roof, the Kuno siblings each chased after their desired lovers until they eventually ended up knocking the other unconscious, Soun cried and screamed and begged Nabiki not to leave, and Ryoga desperately tried to avoid being splashed by various beverages being spilled by the party goers. At the end of the night, at least, Nabiki seemed happy because every single guest had brought a money gift for her. 

The day after the party, Ryoga went to take the bundles of trash out to the curbside and got lost for two weeks. Akari showed up at the dojo looking for him while he was gone, and seemed disappointed but not angry that he wasn’t there. She thanked the Tendo family for their help, and returned to her farm, where Ryoga showed up three days later. He was there for another two weeks before he got lost again and finally ended up back at the Tendo dojo. 

Of course, the day he did, it was raining, so he showed up as a small black piglet who Ranma happened to notice as he had run out to close the outer gates. In his girl form, he grabbed P-chan by the back of his neck like a naughty kitten and lifted him up to eye level. 

“Everybody’s been looking for you, dummy,” he grumbled. 

The pig could only sigh with a soft oink in return. 

Ranma rolled his eyes and tucked P-chan under his arm as he finished closing the gates, then brought the pig inside to the bathroom, careful to make sure no one was watching. The two of them transformed back into their normal selves in the hot water of the bath and sat in silence for a long while. 

“Well--” began Ryoga.

“You got lost.”

“Sure.”

“For a month!”

“I did.”

Ranma frowned. “You were supposed to be helping me with this plan. It was your idea, and I can’t do it alone.”

“I know.”

“Akane’s talking to me less and less every day.” Ranma sank down in the water until it covered his shoulders. “I don’t even think she hates me. I don’t think she feels anything at all anymore.”

Ryoga frowned. “I’m sorry. I can’t promise I won’t get lost again, but I’m here now. I’ll help now.”

“Well, not right now,” muttered Ranma. “Tomorrow?”

Ryoga grinned and nodded. “Tomorrow.”

* * *

“I’m still not super excited about the part of this plan that requires me to wear a skirt,” Ranma growled, trying to yank the hem of the thing down. The entire outfit fit his female form perfectly and showed off the curves he had a love-hate relationship with. A short pencil skirt, a tight and low-cut blouse, a form fitting blazer style jacket on top, and a stupid hat that Ryoga said was cute and “really tied the whole thing together.”

The two of them were walking down the street, Ranma trying to get comfortable, Ryoga loaded down with a large rectangular backpack and carrying a pole across his shoulders that had multiple kettles on either end. 

“You’ve worn worse outfits to trick better men,” Ryoga replied. “Like me.”

“I’ve definitely never worn anything like this to trick you,” retorted Ranma. 

“You have to look appealing. That’s the whole point of this plan.”

“I guess,” Ranma grumbled. 

The afternoon sunlight was suddenly blocked by the looming shadow of their destination. 

“Okay, so you go up to the roof, and try to hide in the rafters in the main room. There’s a couch in there. And you have to time it exactly right.”

“I know, I know, it was my idea,” said Ryoga, rolling his eyes.

“And I guess I’ll go in through the front?”

“That is the best option. Keep him distracted while I get into place.”

“Mmm,” Ranma nodded, looking up at the imposing gates. “And Ryoga?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t get lost.”

“I won’t!” Ryoga knocked him on the head with his fist before taking a high leap to the top of the fence and then, presumably, to the roof of the mansion.

Ranma flexed his neck, hearing his bones pop into place. He let out a deep sigh. “Here we go.”

He lifted one slender finger to the intercom besides the gate and pressed the button. He heard a buzzing noise, then a deep, unfortunately familiar voice: 

“Whomst is calling upon this house?”

Ranma gritted his teeth. Putting on his best girly voice, he replied: “Kuno-senpai! It’s me! Your. . . lover!”

“The pig-tailed girl?!”

“Mmmmhmmm,” Ranma agreed. “That’s me! Can I come in to visit?”

It was mere seconds before the gates opened wide, with Tatewaki Kuno standing valiantly behind them. “Ah, pig-tailed girl, how I have longed for this day! Come, let us embrace!”

As he sprinted forward with his arms wide, Ranma slammed his palm flat into Kuno’s chest, stopping him in his tracks. “Now, now, Kuno-senpai, you know how shy I am!”

He brought his other hand to his face, pretending to blush. “I was thinking we could just have some tea together.”

“Tea?” Kuno’s mind filled with images of the slow, tense meditations of traditional tea. How his hands might brush against each other as they both reach for a cup, the unbearable passion spilling over into a fervent embrace. “Yes, we shall have tea!”

Kuno slung his arm around Ranma’s shoulders and ushered him into the house, with Ranma doing his best to giggle and act charmed while resisting the urge to kick Kuno into the sun. 

Kuno ushered the two of them through the mansion’s grand, booby-trapped hallways, to a large main room that had a high ceiling with exposed beams. Ranma cast a glance above quickly, hoping Ryoga was somewhere up there in place, ready to go. The timing had to be just right, and it was still a gamble. 

The room was a tasteful fixture of traditional Japanese furniture and modern western pieces. Kuno guided Ranma over to a low couch with an imperial style coffee table set in front. Ranma did his best to snuggle up next to Kuno as the two of them sat down. There was a large clock on the wall above the sliding door that was the main entrance to the room. 

Ranma kept one eye on the clock as he said, “Senpai, please tell me all about university! It must be so exciting!”

“Ah, yes,” Kuno cleared his throat thoughtfully. Never the one to miss an opportunity to talk about himself, Kuno launched into a long, rambling diatribe about his various misadventures in higher education. Apparently the university kendo club was quite enamored with him already, with talks of making him captain by the next year. He was currently majoring in Japanese History and blah blah blah blah . . . 

Ranma kept watching the clock. _Please, let Ryoga be where he needs to be_.

* * *

Miraculously, he was. 

Some act of providence had managed to not only allow Ryoga to sneak in undetected, but lead him through the rafters of the preposterously large Kuno mansion to the exact beam that was above the heads of where Kuno and Ranma currently sat. 

He balanced easily, even with the heavy load he carried. Carefully, he set up what he needed as below him, Kuno droned on and on about his university triumphs both real and imagined. Ryoga rolled his eyes and hunched down so he was at an angle that allowed him to watch the same clock Ranma had his own eyes on. The ticking of the clock was infinitely more interesting than whatever the hell Kuno was talking about. 

Time passed slowly. Ranma’s muscles were straining with tension and irritation. Ryoga was starting to feel sleepy and kept having to stifle yawn after yawn. Finally, the hands on the clock moved into place. Ranma sat up straight, clutching onto Kuno’s chest, making vaguely affirmative noises as the older boy kept talking. Ryoga readied himself above their heads as well.

Any second now.

Then, there it was. Footsteps in the hallway. 

“Oh, Kuno-senpai, hold me!” Ranma yelled and hugged Kuno tightly around the torso. 

Kuno, stunned but pleased, returned the embrace of the pig-tailed girl, crying with joy. “Finally, all of my dreams are coming true! What a glorious day this is!”

_Now!_

Ranma felt the sting of hot water falling from above at exactly the same moment the sliding door opened to the main room. 

“Brother dear, I am home!” called Kodachi as she entered. 

“Sister dear, can’t you see I am with my lover?” Kuno looked up from his embrace of Ranma without letting go.

“Lover?” Kodachi froze at the sight of her brother clutching a very wet, very male Ranma dressed in ill-fitting girl’s clothes. 

“That’s right!” Ranma replied, attempting a falsetto. He tightened his squeeze around Kuno. “We’re lovers!”

“Indeed,” said Kuno. Lost in blissful idiocy, he still hadn’t realized the transformation that had occurred. 

“Ranma-sama,” Kodachi said in a deep, dark voice. “I cannot believe it has come to this.”

“R-Ranma?!” Kuno finally looked down at the boy in his arms. 

Kodachi lowered her eyes to the ground. “I fear I can no longer give my heart to you.”

“Thank god,” sighed Ranma under his breath. 

“Wait, Kodachi, this isn’t--” Kuno was at a loss for words, for once in his life.

“I could never, ever, be with a person who has had relations with my brother!”

“Relations?” Ranma wrinkled his nose, but didn’t argue.

“It would be like incest. Now please, excuse me, I suddenly feel sick to my stomach.” With that, Kodachi covered her mouth, turned, and ran from the room.

“Well that was actually easier than I thought it would be,” Ranma said, releasing Kuno and stretching his arms over his head. The small clothes he was wearing threatened to burst at the seams when he did so. “I guess that--ULP!”

He was cut off by a bokken being held against his throat.

“Ranma Saotome,” Kuno said, glowering from his end of the couch, gripping his wooden sword so tightly his knuckles were turning white. “What have you done with the pig-tailed girl?”

“Aw, what? Jeez,” Ranma sighed and wiggled out from under the sword, standing on his feet next to the couch. “Don’t you get it by now?”

He pointed at the ceiling and a stream of cold water descended on him, changing him back into his female form. 

“I--”

A stream of hot water, changing him to male.

“Am--”

Cold water.

“The--”

Hot water.

“Pig-tailed--”

Cold water. 

“Girl.”

Ranma sighed and spread out his now much smaller hands. 

Kuno fell on the floor, still pointing his sword at Ranma, although his hands were now trembling. “How--how is this possible?”

“It’s a curse,” Ranma shrugged. “Cold water changes me into a girl, and hot water--”

Another stream of hot water descended.

“Changes me back into a boy.”

“This whole time--the love of my life--”

Ranma rolled his eyes.

“Has been--my greatest enemy?!” Kuno dropped his sword and lowered his hands to the ground until he was in a tabletop position, head low. Images flashed through his head, the pig-tailed girl in a bathing suit, in a girl’s gym uniform, in lingerie. All of the photographs he had purchased from Nabiki Tendo. And what he had done with those photographs. “Has this been true the entire time?”

“Well, yeah,” said Ranma, shrugging. 

“I have been such a fool,” Kuno said, defeated. “I have only one more question, Ranma Saotome.”

“Sure, lay it on me.”

“Is Akane Tendo--is she--someone else, as well?”

“Oh, well, no,” said Ranma. Casually, he strolled over to where Kuno was on the floor and crouched down so his face was as close as possible to the other boy’s without touching. Making sure his energy was the darkest and most serious it had ever been, he said, “But if you ever come near Akane again, I’ll kick your teeth in.”

Kuno did not reply, as he was frozen with fear. 

Ranma stood up and stretched, the bones in his back letting out an audible _pop_. “Okay, Ryoga, let’s go.”

Ryoga gracefully dropped down from the rafters and landed next to Ranma. “This really worked out.”

“Sure did. Okay, you got my change of clothes?”

“Change of clothes?”

“Yeah, I can’t exactly walk home looking like this, can I?” Ranma gestured at himself.

“I didn’t bring a change of clothes,” said Ryoga. “We can do this instead.”

He pulled out his last bottle of water and dumped it over Ranma’s head, shrinking him back into his female form. 

“Thanks, I guess,” Ranma muttered. “Oh well, at least if I’m like this, we can get ice cream!”

“You’re buying one for me too, right?”

“Eh? Why do I have to pay for you?”

“To thank me for all my help today!”

“Fine, fine,” Ranma said, as they both stepped over Kuno on their way out of the mansion. “But don’t get used to it.”

The sounds of their banter faded away as Kuno remained on the floor. Eventually there was complete silence except for the ticking of the clock. 

Kuno fell over, and remained in one place for the next 14 hours.


	4. Nice Day for a Funeral

Things operated as normal the next day at the Tendo household. Nabiki was away at university, but everyone else was home. Ranma and his father fought over food, Akane ate as quickly and quietly as possible before disappearing into the dojo, and Nodoka was sharing an interesting article from a woman’s magazine with Kasumi. 

The only irregularity was when the phone in the entryway rang before the end of the meal. 

“I’ll get it!” Kasumi said brightly and stood up. The others continued their various activities. Soun enquired after Ryoga’s parents and Ryoga, awkwardly dodging mistimed punches and elbows from Ranma and his father, replied that they were doing well, thanks. 

“You’re here so often,” said Nodoka gently. “I’m starting to feel like Ranma has a brother.”

“Brother?” Ryoga said in unison with Ranma, who had paused mid-fight. They both blinked wide-eyed, staring at her, then turned to each other and blinked again.

“It’s quite nice, actually!” Nodoka beamed. “Ranma grew up so lonely as an only child, and there’s only been girls here for so long.”

“I guess,” said Ryoga, wrinkling his brow. 

“Everyone?”

They all quieted and looked up at Kasumi, standing in the doorway. Resting one hand lightly on the doorframe, her other hand covered her mouth as she looked down at the group. “I have some . . . news.”

“What is it, Kasumi?” asked Soun.

“It’s Grandfather Happosai. He--he’s dead.”

Silence fell around the table as they all stared at one another. No one said anything until Ranma finally clenched his fists, pumped his arms, and yelled at the top of his lungs:

“YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

* * *

“I can’t believe he wanted a western style funeral.”

Ryoga stood next to Ranma in the green grass of the cemetery. The two of them had owned no proper clothes for the event and neither wanted to rent anything, so Soun and Genma respectively had lent them each an old black suit. Genma’s was too baggy on Ranma, and Soun’s too short on Ryoga. Ranma had pulled the tie almost as loose as it could go and unbuttoned the top buttons of the collared shirt before they had even arrived at the gravesite. Ryoga was wearing a pair of sunglasses, trying to block out how obnoxiously the sun was shining on that day, as if the clouds had finally cleared for the first time in years.

“Let’s be real,” replied Ranma. “He just wanted to show off his collection one last time.”

It was true. Happosai’s casket, currently above ground, was made of glass and completely transparent, with gilded accents framing the angled panels. Happosai’s body lied peacefully among a colorful, soft cloud of panties and bras. 

“At least this way we know he’s really dead,” chimed in Akane. She was in a plain black dress, also wearing sunglasses. She had been guilted into coming by their parents, but she looked extremely irritated, the glasses not hiding her expression as well as she had hoped. “If we couldn’t see him right now, I would think it was another one of his tricks.”

“The three of you pipe down,” Soun growled at them. “This is a solemn occasion.”

“Is it though?” asked Ranma. 

Sure enough, no one had seemed particularly sad over the news. There was no one else at the funeral besides the Tendos, Saotomes, and Ryoga. They had called Nabiki at university and asked her to attend but she had simply laughed and hung up. 

“Nonetheless, we should be respectful of our elders,” Nodoka whispered.

“Aw, Mom, you don’t even know how terrible that old lecher was--”

“I know,” replied Nodoka. “I remember how he was from before your father and I got married.”

She scrunched up her face in a memory of disgust and Ryoga could suddenly see a great familial resemblance to Ranma. 

“But this is a funeral,” she continued, smoothing the front of her dress. She felt uncomfortable in western clothes, and it showed. “And we should at least _appear_ to be in mourning.” 

They all quieted as the priest, in a long white robe with purple vestments, took his place next to the casket. Looking down at what was inside, he did a double take, then shook his head and cleared his throat. Opening his bible, he began. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to say our goodbyes.”

As he continued, no one seemed to be listening, especially the three youngest “mourners.” Ranma seemed intent on digging something out of one of his ears with his index finger. Ryoga kept staring up at the sky, counting the number of birds flying overhead. Akane looked down at her nails, picking at a bit of skin. 

“Would anyone like to share a few words about the deceased?” The priest asked after finishing his speech. 

No one said anything.

“Anyone?”

Again, no replies.

“Well, surely, someone has something nice to share?”

They all turned to look at Kasumi. She avoided their gaze and looked skyward. “My, the sun sure is bright today.”

“I’ll speak,” said Genma. “Master Happosai was the founder of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts.”

“That’s true!” said Ranma, pointing at him affirmatively.

“He was also--“ Genma hesitated, searching for the words.

“Also?” asked the priest.

“He was also--“

He paused again. A light breeze blew through the cemetery, rustling the blades of grass.

“He was also old!” declared Genma triumphantly.

“That’s also true!” agreed Ranma, pointing again, Ryoga and Akane nodding along in solidarity. 

“And--”

“And?” said the three teenagers together. 

“And--he was very short!”

“Way to go, Pop!” said Ranma.

“You did it,” said Ryoga, clapping.

“Proud of you,” added Akane, making a tiny cheering motion.

“That’s not what I meant!” interjected the priest, a vein now visibly bulging on his forehead. “Surely, someone must have something meaningful to say about this man?”

The group fell silent once more.

“I have something to say.”

They all turned in the direction of the voice. Cologne, atop her cane, hopped slowly over to the gravesite. Balefully, she cast her gaze downward toward the glass casket. It was midday, now, the sun at its highest point, and the reflection of light on the glass almost obscured Happosai’s image completely. 

“Hapi,” she said, her voice low. “I’ve known you longer than I’ve known anyone. We shared many memories together. And now you’re gone. And honestly?”

She looked up at the sun. Another breeze flew through the cemetery, causing her long white hair to float delicately in the wind. She took one deep breath before returning her eyes to the casket. 

“I’m just glad you went first.”

With that, she pursed her lips, made a hocking noise, and spit. 

The glob of saliva landed on the glass directly over Happosai’s face with a _thunk_. After a short pause, it began to slide slowly downward. 

The rest of the group parted, allowing Cologne to turn and leave the way she had come. The priest, shocked, opened and closed his mouth soundlessly a few times, then sighed and crossed himself, muttering a prayer under his breath. 

“You know, sometimes you gotta admire that old bag,” said Ranma in awe.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a drink,” said Soun. “Saotome-kun, how about we hit the pub?”

“Sounds good to me,” agreed Genma.

“Me too,” sighed Nodoka. 

“I’d like to come as well,” said Kasumi. 

“I’m not going,” said Ranma, clasping his hands behind his head and raising his nose in the air. “Alcohol’s no good when you’re in training.”

“You also happen to be the biggest lightweight in Japan,” commented Akane.

“Now wait a minute--”

“She’s right,” said Ryoga. “No one holds their liquor worse than you.”

“You kids can’t come anyway,” said Nodoka. 

“Why not?” whined Ranma, suddenly very eager to go.

“It’s illegal first of all,” chided his mother. “Secondly, it’s a bad habit to develop so young.”

“Come on, let’s go!” Genma took his wife’s arm and the adults walked ahead of the children out of the cemetery.

Akane followed after them, speaking to no one in particular, “I guess I should go home and get back to my training--“

“And we have stuff to work on too, don’t we Ranma?” Ryoga threw an arm around the other boy’s neck, leading him away from the grave.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Excuse me!” cried the priest. “What about the burial?”

Ranma turned, but kept walking backwards. “Ah, I don’t know, man, throw some dirt on him or whatever. I don’t know, I’m Buddhist. We’re Buddhist, right, Pop?”

“More or less,” called Genma over his shoulder. 

“See?” Ranma made an attempt at a friendly smile and spun back around to catch up with Ryoga. 

The priest let out the biggest sigh of his life and looked down at the ostentatious, spit-covered, panty-filled casket. He turned to the gravedigger, who had been standing nearby while the entire funeral had occurred, ready to complete his task. 

The priest shrugged. “I guess just throw some dirt on him or whatever.”

* * *

“So how did he die, anyway?” 

Abandoned by the adults, the three teenagers had decided to settle for ramen for lunch instead. They had picked a familiar but small place near the cemetery. Crowded into a small booth, Ryoga had made sure to sit in the middle of his bench so that Ranma and Akane had to sit next to each other. Akane had squeezed herself as far away as possible though, nearly pressing against the front window of the shop. Ranma gave her space and made no attempt to slide closer to her, but Ryoga considered it a small victory nonetheless. 

“Must have been something pretty strong to defeat that guy,” said Ranma, slurping a noodle.

Akane shrugged. “Kasumi said it was just a heart attack.”

“That’s it?” asked Ryoga.

“Nobody can live forever.”

“I thought that old pervert might, since he was so pickled in evil,” Ranma said. “Ah, Akane! What are you doing?”

While he wasn’t looking, she had poked her chopsticks into his bowl and stolen a piece of fishcake. As she quickly popped it into her mouth, she replied, “Fishcake is the best part of ramen.”

“I know that, so why did you take mine?”

She made her eyes big and round, bringing one hand to her cheek. “It soaks up all the broth, but still remains a unique texture. How could I resist?”

“Hmm, well then, you can pay me back with a piece of pork--”

“Ah, Ranma! No fair!” Akane tried to pull her bowl away but he was too quick, easily grabbing a piece of meat with his own utensils.

Ryoga watched their back and forth continue from his seat across the table. He had seen Ranma and Akane engage in identical behavior dozens of times, but for the first time ever, he recognized it for what it was.

Flirting. 

They were flirting. 

Ryoga tilted his head to the side slightly. This was a good sign. It meant Akane’s heart was still open. And Ranma, that poor idiot, didn’t even know he was doing it. _I’ve really grown as a person_ , he thought to himself smugly. 

“Ryoga!” 

Both Ranma and Akane said his name in unison, snapping him out of his reverie. He reacted quickly, covering his bowl with his forearm as the other two teenagers had stretched out with their own chopsticks, jabbing him lightly. 

“What do you two think you’re doing?”

“Well, Akane stole my fishcake--”

“Ranma stole a piece of meat, which is way worse--”

Ryoga sighed. “Fine, fine. Ranma, you can take one! One! Fishcake from my bowl, and Akane-san, you may have one piece of meat. But I don’t want to hear about this anymore.”

Beaming, they replied in unison, “Thank you!”

* * *

“It’s not fair,” Ranma moaned as the trio exited the restaurant. The sky was a bit cloudier now, but not overcast, and it was a few degrees cooler. He slung his suit jacket over one shoulder, holding onto the collar with one finger. Akane rested her sunglasses on top of her head, while Ryoga clipped his to his shirt collar. “All those guys got to go out drinking to celebrate."

“I don’t think they’re celebrating,” said Akane as they strolled along the street.

“Do you really want to drink that badly, Ranma?” asked Ryoga.

“He only wants to because his mom told him not to,” said Akane. 

“And what's wrong with that?” Ranma asked. 

“So much,” replied Ryoga, rolling his eyes and sticking his hands in his pockets. 

“You know,” said Akane, taking a couple steps in front of the boys and turning around to face them with a playful expression. “We could get some alcohol and have our own celebration.”

“Oh?” said Ranma. “And how would we do that?”

“Nabiki does it all the time. You just gotta find someone who’s going into the store to buy it for you and give them some money.”

“What if we get caught?” asked Ryoga.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a cop around here,” muttered Ranma. “And there’s been so much property destruction.”

“Come on,” pleaded Akane, clasping her hands together at her heart. “Today is a special day! Let’s have some fun!”

Ranma and Ryoga shared a look, each raising an eyebrow in the direction of each other. They turned back to Akane.

“All right, let’s do it,” said Ranma. 

“Yay!” She spun around and threw her arms up in a celebratory V. 

It took them a lot longer than they thought it would to accomplish their goal. First they argued over which convenience store they should stake out, finally settling on one down a crowded side street off the main road. Then they had to wait for the right kind of customer, and business seemed to be slow in the middle of the afternoon. For quite a while there were only a few very proper looking housewives and old ladies going in and out. Then they argued about who would be the initial one to make the approach. Ranma finally agreed to do it in a surge of false bravado, but failed at his attempt of bribing a salaryman when it turned out he only had 500 yen in his pockets. Akane finally was able to shove a wad of bills into the hands of a college-aged kid who was dropping into the store to buy cigarettes.

He returned with two bags full of several bottles of various kinds of liquor, as none of the three teenagers had any specific request, nor even an idea of what would be appropriate. They thanked the young man and immediately ran in the opposite direction towards the canal. 

They slid down the diagonal concrete wall until they were at the edge of the water and appraised their haul. 

“I don’t know what any of this stuff is,” said Ranma, lifting up a bottle by its neck and staring at the liquid inside. 

“Me either,” said Akane, looking through the others in the bag. “I’ve only ever had beer or sake.”

“I’ve had sake,” said Ryoga, helping her hold the bag open. “Not too often, though.”

“Well, let’s try it out.” Ranma twisted the lid off his bottle and threw it behind him. He tilted the bottle up, took a swig, then immediately spit it out. “Yuck! It’s so gross!”

“Don’t be such a baby, Ranma!” Akane took the bottle from him and sipped it. She didn’t spit it out but her entire face scrunched into itself and she stuck out her tongue. “Bleh! It’s really awful!”

“Told you!”

“I’ll try this one,” said Ryoga, picking up a new bottle. After one long drink, he paused, looked down, and took another drink. “This one’s pretty good, actually.”

“Let me try, let me try!”

He passed it over to Akane who took a sip and her expression brightened. “Wow, that is good!”

They continued on like this, trying and sharing the different offerings until they each found one that they preferred. They began to walk along the bank of the canal, drinking and telling old jokes and sharing fight stories. Akane had won the adolescent national kendo championship when she was twelve-- _wait, really?--yeah, really!--wow!_ Ranma and Ryoga had found a dead rat in the shower drain at their old boys school and their classmates had put a tiny school uniform on it and hid it in the principal’s desk-- _ew yuck! don’t tell me that!--it wasn’t a big deal, he deserved it!_ Ryoga took the shopping bags and attempted an impersonation of Happosai-- _aah! how sweet!--nah, you gotta be shorter!--and bald!--I’m not shaving my head for this!_

Eventually they found themselves under where the highway passed over the canal. Akane paused and looked up at the underside of the bridge, the cars above so distant she could only barely hear them. She rocked back and forth on her heels, feeling the effects of the alcohol. Quietly, she started humming to herself. 

“What are you singing?” asked Ranma as he and Ryoga caught up to her.

“You remember that American movie we watched on television a couple months ago?” She started singing in accented English. “ _Highway to the danger zone_. . .”

“Ah! Tom Cruise!” Ranma yelled. He started crooning along with her, although slightly more off key. “ _Highway to the danger zone!_ ”

“What does that mean?” asked Ryoga. Having not attended high school, his English was the weakest of the three of them.

Ranma turned to Akane. Her translation skills were better than his, but the alcohol was starting to cloud her brain. “き-- _危険 . . . 危険の . . . zone . . . への . . ._ _こ . . ._ _高速道路_.”

“Is that right?” said Ranma skeptically.

“Close enough,” she shrugged.

“But it doesn’t make any sense!” Ryoga said, frowning.

“It’s English, it never makes any sense,” said Ranma. 

The three continued walking, debating the merits of Akane’s translation along the way. By the time they reached the end of the canal, they had dropped the discussion altogether and moved onto a different song they all knew well. 

“There’s always tomorrow,” Ranma sang as he lifted himself up over the edge of the slanted wall. He turned and offered a hand to Akane, who continued the verse with him.

“There’s always tomorrow!” They both helped Ryoga over the top and he joined in for the chorus. 

“There’s always tomorrow after all!”

They marched down the street, attempting but failing to keep up a rhythm to the beat of the song. 

“There’s always tomorrow, yeah, there’s always tomorrow! I’m young enough to still have dreams! Surely someday, surely someday, she will understand!”

They were in the middle of the road now, spinning and dancing and hollering the final lyrics at the top of their lungs. Luckily the only person on the street was an older man in a hat and trenchcoat walking his dog, who even seemed to be singing along quietly as he passed them. 

“There’s always tomorrow! There’s always tomorrow! There’s always tomorrow after all!”

They ended with a big fanfare, clapping and cheering for themselves. Ranma looked up at the sky, scratching his head. 

“Hey, when did it get to be night out?”

Akane and Ryoga looked up as well. The sky was a dark blue, with the city lights creating an orange halo around the rim. A scattering of stars was visible, and a sliver of moon hung low in the sky. They paused in place for what seemed like forever, the evening breeze tickling the fringes of their hair and the hems of their clothes. 

“What next?”

They let the question hang in the air, and later no one would remember asking it. But the moon and stars were still in the sky, the streetlights humming, the faraway sound of a mother calling for her children. The day was ending for everyone else, but they didn’t feel ready.

“Let’s go to the park,” said Akane. “It’s just down the street.”

The boys agreed with a nod and followed her as she walked away. The song was still stuck in their heads, but they sang quietly this time. 

There was no one else in the park when they arrived. Akane led them to a place near the artificial lake that had a picnic table and a patch of poorly watered grass. Ranma and Ryoga sat on top of the table, resting their feet on the bench, while Akane, feeling a bit dizzy, went ahead and sat on the grass itself. Their last bottle was almost empty, and the time between passing it increased and they took smaller and smaller sips. 

The starlight was starting to reflect off the rippling water in the lake as they watched, trying to continue their conversations from before. By this time, they were all pretty drunk and were just barely able to make complete sentences. 

“Ah, I’m too tired!” Akane exclaimed and flopped backwards onto the grass. 

“Hey, that looks comfortable,” grumbled Ranma, standing from the bench and walking over to her. Trying not to lose his balance, he sat on the ground and then fell back as well. 

“Don’t leave me out,” said Ryoga, and joined them. 

The three lay flat on the grass, the tops of their heads touching, their feet pointing out like spokes on a wheel. A collective wave of relief passed over them. It was cool on the ground, and it was easier than standing up. 

“You know,” said Ranma after a long while. “I’ve never known anybody that died before. At least, not anybody I . . . really knew?”

He didn’t want to say “cared about,” not about Happosai. But it was impossible for him to think of the appropriate word at the current moment. He stretched his hands out by his side and accidentally found his left hand brushing against the back of Akane’s right. She didn’t flinch or move away, so he left his hand there, letting the two? three? inches of skin continue the lightest of contact. Even with the back of his hand, he could feel how smooth her skin was, the slight bump of one her knuckles. 

“Really? No one?” asked Ryoga.

“No,” Ranma replied. “When I was little, I thought maybe my mom was dead, and that’s why my dad never talked about her, but it turned out--well, you guys know.”

“My grandparents died when I was fourteen,” said Ryoga. “Car accident.”

“I remember that!” said Ranma. “You were out of school for a while.”

Ryoga nodded, even though the others couldn’t see it. “They were nice. My grandfather always gave me candy when he saw me, even when I said I was too old.”

They fell back into silence. Akane, especially, was very quiet and Ranma briefly wondered if she had fallen asleep. But he and Ryoga both knew what her experience with someone close to her dying was. Most likely she didn’t want to talk about it, and they were too kind to ask. 

In the distance, grasshoppers were singing.

“My mom,” Akane said finally, her voice thick. “When my mom died, I was so little I don’t have that many memories of her. But I remember, she was always smiling. Always took care of me when I was sick. And then she got sick. And I tried to help. Tried to bring her water, tried not to make too much noise. But they didn’t want me to see what was happening. They hid her from me.”

Ranma could hear her voice wavering as she tried to be strong. He wanted to take her hand, promise she would never feel pain like that again. But who could make a promise like that?

Instead, he slowly lifted his index finger and bent it slightly backwards until it rested on top of hers, gently intertwining until the pads of their fingers touched. For a moment, it seemed like she would take his hand, when she lifted her thumb and ran the tip down the length of his finger, but then she quickly pulled her hand away and sat up. 

“Let’s take a walk!” she announced. With a slight struggle, she rose to her feet, brushing dirt and grass off the back of her dress and shaking out her hair. Ranma and Ryoga sat up as well, but much more slowly. 

“Sure,” said Ranma, although he felt completely the opposite. 

They found their way back to the main path through the park, which was wide and paved with beige stones. There were lamp posts every twenty feet or so, bright enough to light their way. Akane walked a little ahead of the boys, her hands clasped behind her back. 

“Hey Ranma,” said Ryoga quietly. “Is Akane-san--does she seem to be acting weird to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, this whole thing, the drinking, going to the park, it was all her idea. She just seems--“ Ryoga was too drunk to think of the word, but it was _lost._

“I dunno,” shrugged Ranma. “I dunno, she’s been this way for a while. Ever since--I dunno.”

But he did know. Ever since they got back from China. He felt a riot in his stomach, and he couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or guilt. 

They were interrupted by a sudden loud blast of piano music that seemed to be coming from the trees.

“What the hell is that?” Ranma demanded, startled.

Akane ran a few steps ahead and pointed up at a lamp post that had a speaker attached to the top. 

“Ah! Look at that! I’ve heard of these!”

“What is it?” asked Ryoga.

“They play classical music at night to bore teens out of the park,” she giggled. “But I don’t know, I think it’s kinda pretty.”

She swayed back and forth, looking upward, waving her hands with small motions in the air at shoulder level, as if guiding the music with her fingers.

Ranma and Ryoga watched from about ten feet away. Ryoga nudged Ranma with his elbow. “You should, you know, go dance with her.”

Ranma reacted out of reflex. “What? No way, I’m not doing that!”

He turned away stubbornly. Ryoga raised one eyebrow, then looked at Akane and walked over to her. He knew there was one way to motivate Ranma.

Jealousy.

“Akane-san?”

She turned around at the sound of Ryoga’s voice to see him standing close, holding out an outstretched hand. “Mm?”

“May I have this dance?”

She giggled. “Sure!”

Ryoga took her easily in his arms, one hand at the back of her waist, the other holding hers, her fingers in his palm. Gracefully, he moved her around to the rhythm of the music, even lifting her arm above her at one point so she could do a small spin. 

He kept glancing over at Ranma, who was still frowning and turned away, his hands shoved into his pockets. He glared at Ryoga and Akane from the corner of his eye, and when he did, Ryoga made sure he moved his hips a little too close to Akane’s, moved his hand a little too far down the small of her back. 

_C’mon, Ranma, get a clue for once in your stupid life_ \--

“Ryoga-kun, where did you learn how to dance so well?”

“Oh,” he turned back to his dance partner. “I took ballroom dance lessons in junior high.”

“No way!”

“It’s true. Together with rhythm gymnastics!”

“Huh, I always wonder where you learned that!”

“May I cut in?”

Ryoga and Akane separated a little to look at Ranma, who had finally worked up some gumption, although he was blushing and avoiding eye contact. 

Akane grinned. “Sure!”

Quickly, she spun around until she was behind Ranma and pushed his back with the flat of her palm, causing him to stumble forward until he bumped chests with Ryoga. On impact the two of them both blushed brightly and jumped away from each other.

“That’s not what I meant!” cried Ranma.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Akane said, trying to suppress another giggle. “Here.”

She reached out and took his left hand in her right, and placed his right hand on her waist. She then rested her free hand on his shoulder and they began to move to the music. 

“Better?”

“Mm,” he nodded, reveling in the physical contact. 

He wasn’t nearly as good of a dancer as Ryoga, and his drunkenness caused him to be more unsteady on his feet than he normally was. But Akane seemed to be supporting him, moving slowly, moving closer. He gradually grew more confident until he was leading her around, the music drowned out by the sound of his own heart beating in his ears.

Akane kept eye contact with him the whole time. Her cheeks and nose were tinged with pink due to the effects of alcohol, but her eyes were bright and clear. Most importantly, she was smiling. At him. She was smiling at him. His heart was overflowing. 

“Akane, I--”

“Hey! You kids need to get out of here, the park is closed!”

Ranma and Akane broke apart to look at where the voice came from. A security guard in uniform stood in the middle of the path, hands on his hips and glaring at them. 

“Ah, a cop! The first one I ever saw!” Ranma yelled, pointing in excitement. 

“I’m not a--is that alcohol?” The guard looked down at the now empty bottle Ranma had placed on the paving stones before asking Akane to dance. “You kids look too young to be having that. Where are your parents?”

Ranma looked to his right at Akane. He looked to his left at Ryoga. “Saotome Secret Technique?”

“Saotome Secret Technique!” they yelled in agreement. 

“What the hell is--hey! Hey!”

Before he had finished his question, the teenagers had turned and ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction. The guard sighed heavily and walked over to pick up the liquor bottle. 

“Great,” he muttered. “It’s empty. Kids today have no sense of courtesy.”

* * *

Akane, Ryoga, and Ranma ran the entire way home, not looking over their shoulders even once. When they arrived at the Tendo house, it was late and dark and quiet, and they spilled into the entryway through the sliding door, trying to shush each other but being loud in the process. When they turned on the light, they were surprised to find Genma, Soun, Nodoka, and Kasumi, standing at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed and glaring disapprovingly. 

“Uh . . . yo!” said Ranma, holding up one hand. 

“Where have you three been?” demanded Genma.

“Uh . . . out?” answered Ranma, rubbing the back of his neck, while Akane and Ryoga tried to hold in their laughter. 

“Have you been drinking?!” asked Nodoka.

“Uh . . . no?”

Stifled giggles were starting to escape from Akane and Ryoga and they clamped hands over each other’s mouths in an attempt to hold them in. 

“That’s it, you three are grounded!” yelled Soun. 

“What? How’re you gonna ground us?” Ranma leaned forward, sloppily pointing a finger back at himself and the other two teenagers. “Now that the old lech is dead, we might be the strongest people in Japan. Maybe the whole world!”

Akane flexed a bicep and winked, finally letting out a small giggle.

“And I’m not related to you,” said Ryoga, spreading his hands wide. 

Soun flared with anger. “Now listen here--”

“Father,” Kasumi placed a hand on Soun’s arm, instantly calming him. “The three of them are right. There’s not a lot we can do to them right now.” 

She turned to the three teenagers. “How about you three get some water and then go to bed”?”

“Yes, Kasumi!” they replied simultaneously and danced off to the kitchen.

“Is there really nothing we can do?” Soun asked his daughter sadly once they were gone.

Nodoka tilted her head thoughtfully. “I have an idea.”

* * *

_GONG!_

“Good morning!”

Akane, Ryoga, and Ranma bolted upright. They had been slumped over the breakfast table, Ryoga and Akane wearing their sunglasses, Ranma simply resting his head in his hands, all muttering and unable to hold themselves straight. 

Until Ranma’s mother had entered the room with a giant gong and slammed it as hard as she could with a mallet. 

“Whyyyyyy?!!!” screamed Ranma though the pain in his head. 

“You may have been right about it not being practical to ground you, especially with all the messes the three of you seem to get into, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be punished.”

They were beginning to slouch again. Akane started pulling the collar of her shirt over her face. 

_GONG!_

“Aaah!”

“Please stop, Auntie . . .”

“I don’t even really live here!”

“Now, the three of you are going to spend today cleaning the dojo from top to bottom. Not a speck of dirt or dust will be left by the time you’re finished, do you understand that?”

They all mumbled an agreement. 

“And if I catch any of you slacking or nodding off--”

_GONG!_

* * *

The three of them attended to their chore miserably, but dutifully. Ranma could barely keep his eyes open in more than a squint as he wiped down the doorways. Ryoga, although hungover, had seemed to fare the best, so he was the one bent over, running back and forth with a cloth over the floors. Akane was cleaning out the storage closet, struggling to lift the free weights, but refusing any help. 

Around lunchtime, Nodoka brought them a platter full of sandwiches that the teens devoured eagerly. She sat with them as they ate, sipping tea.

“So, Ranma, how do you feel?”

He grunted.

“Ah, I’m familiar with that feeling,” Nodoka smiled. “And was it worth it?”

Ranma opened one eye fully as he looked at his mother. His head was pounding, he was desperately thirsty, and his muscles felt like sand. Cleaning the dojo was the most boring task in the world. Then he thought of Akane, singing together in strained voices, touching her hand under the starlight, smiling, and dancing, and laughing. 

“Yeah,” he said. “It was.”


	5. To the Death

Ranma and Ryoga struggled with executing the next part of their plan. Mostly because they couldn’t think of it. 

Every day for a week, they met in the storage shed, making notes and arguing with each other. The main sheet of paper had been altered, with Kuno and Kodachi grouped together, crossed off, and numbered “1”, with Shampoo and Ukyo being renumbered 2 and 3 respectively. 

“The issue with Shampoo,” Ranma said, leaning back against a stack of boxes. “Is she’s actually pretty smart.”

“Mmm,” agreed Ryoga, rubbing his chin. “And relentless.”

“And aggressive.”

“So we need to find a way to end her obsession with you, if your ego can handle it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Last time she went cold, you made an ass of yourself trying to win her back.”

“Well things are different now,” muttered Ranma.

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Listen, Shampoo is very sexy, and very affectionate. But in China, she threatened to kill Akane.” He set his jaw, angry at the memory. He leaned forward, pulling his knees up to his chest. “I’ll never forgive her.” 

“I see,” said Ryoga. He stood and stretched, looking at the sheets of paper they had pinned to the wall with all of their notes. “Well, then we gotta work this out.”

“The only reason she even likes me is because I accidentally beat her in a fight,” said Ranma. He stood as well, standing next to Ryoga. “It’s not as if she really even knows me.”

“Well, how about we get another guy to beat her in a fight?”

“She’s pretty strong, though. Stronger than most guys. In fact, the only guy I know stronger than her is--” Slowly, he turned, pointing at Ryoga and raising an eyebrow.

“What?! Oh no, not me!” Ryoga blushed and waved his hands frantically. “I’m in love with Akari!”

“In love?” Ranma blinked, then punched Ryoga in the shoulder. “You sly dog! Love, huh?”

“Y-yeah, I guess so,” Ryoga, still blushing, stared down at his feet. “She’s so kind and gentle, but she’s really passionate about the things she likes.”

“Including you?” Ranma teased.

“Well,” Ryoga’s blush was glowing brighter. “I’m not one to kiss and tell.”

“Oho! A real life gentleman! Who would have expected that from little P-chan!”

“Hey!” Ryoga knocked Ranma on the head with a solid punch. “Let’s get back to what we were doing! We need a guy to defeat Shampoo, so obviously I was talking about Mousse!”

“Mousse?” asked Ranma. “I can see why you would think that, but it won’t work.”

“Why not? I’ve seen him fight, he’s plenty strong.”

“Yeah, but the whole reason he and Shampoo never got together in the first place is because he refuses to even attempt to hurt her. If he even thought he was close, he would definitely pull his punches.”

“How honorable, for such a sneaky guy.” Ryoga sighed, then looked up at the wall again. Chewing his bottom lip, he scanned over all the information in front of him and realized it was mostly worthless. “Still, there has to be a way.”

Ranma stared at Ryoga’s profile. “Hey, weren’t you shorter than me?”

“What?”

“You were shorter than me before.”

“I grew, so what?”

“We’re the same height now.”

“Again, so what?”

“So I think I have an idea,” said Ranma and grinned. “But I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

* * *

“How do you even wear this nonsense? It feels slippery.” 

Ryoga and Ranma stood on a street corner a few blocks away from the Nekohanten. Ryoga was wearing one of Ranma’s Chinese style shirts with a mandarin collar, along with a pair of Ranma’s canvas training pants. He had forsaken a bandana and was wearing his hair brushed to the side, with a clip in braided hair extension hanging from the nape of his neck. 

“It’s silk, man, it’s breathable!” Ranma rolled his eyes. He was wearing his own clothes, but fairly identical to what he had loaned to Ryoga. 

“It feels like it’s going to slide right off my body.”

“You don’t understand fashion.” 

“Do I need to?”

“Not for the plan to work. You just need to wear it.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“You have to be in the right place, again.”

“I know, I know, we’ve been over this a million times.”

“All right, I’m going to get into place. Ryoga?”

“I know, I know--”

“Don’t get lost!” they shouted together. 

They had spent all their free time the last several days tracing over their route, Ranma ensuring that Ryoga could make it into the correct spot on his own, even under direct pressure. Hopefully, the training stuck.

With a nod and a hop, Ranma was gone. 

What Ryoga had to do now was wait. He got into a position where he could see the front door of the Nekohanten, but not be too visible himself. After a few minutes, Shampoo pulled out of the alley beside the cafe on her bicycle, takeout container attached to the back. She pedaled off away from the shop without noticing him. 

After a few more minutes, Mousse exited the cafe with a bucket and rag, most likely to clean the windows. 

_ Now! _

Ryoga ran up to Mousse, carrying his umbrella. As he got close to Mousse, he opened it quickly in front of him to block the view of his body. 

“Mousse!”

“What the--”

As Mousse looked up, Ryoga quickly closed his umbrella and used the tip to lift the glasses off of Mousse’s face, flipping them back into his own hand. 

“Hey there, uh, duck boy!”

“What the--Ranma?” Mousse squinted. “Is that you?”

“That’s right, it is I, Ranma!” Ryoga declared. “I have a huge ego and no sense of shame!”

“Why the hell did you take my glasses? Give them back!”

Ryoga spun them around on one finger tauntingly. “Come and get them.”

He pivoted on one foot and ran down the sidewalk as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Mousse was following him, and was relieved to find that to be the case.

Relieved until Mousse dispatched an iron ball at the end of a long retractable chain at his head. Ryoga managed to dodge at the last second, and took a running leap onto the next rooftop. 

“Ranma Saotome! I don’t know what your problem is, but I won’t be made a fool of!”

Mousse followed Ryoga onto the roof, throwing weapon after weapon at him, one managing to slice through the silk shirt of Ranma’s but luckily not hitting any of Ryoga’s skin. 

“You make a fool of yourself plenty without my help!” Ryoga yelled over his shoulder as he continued running from rooftop to rooftop. Mousse sent a flaming whip after him this time that Ryoga jumped over before it set his pants on fire.

_ He’s got fire now?!!! _

From on the rooftops, Ryoga could at least see where he was going, and where his target area was, cutting the odds that he would get lost before he could lead Mousse there. He continued running, dodging, and taunting as he made his way to his destination. Mousse was becoming more and more incensed with frustration as he followed, and there were more than a handful of close calls. 

_ He’s really no one to trifle with _ , thought Ryoga, partly in admiration, partly in fear. Finally, he saw his goal--the park. There was a grouping of trees near the baseball field he had to get to, and hopefully Ranma was close as well. He hopped off the last rooftop onto the street as something Mousse had thrown exploded behind him. 

Ryoga gritted his teeth and booked it into the park, hoping beyond hope he was running down the right sidewalk. Mousse was still following him, but had turned less lethal with his weapons, as now there were plenty of bystanders in the park, a strategy Ryoga and Ranma had counted on. Mostly Mousse was throwing blunt objects now, but they would still be able to knock Ryoga out cold if one collided with his head. 

He turned down the curve of the pathway and he saw what he was looking for. Ranma, through the trees, running directly at them, with Shampoo following behind on her bicycle. She looked playful and not angry though, and Ranma kept turning back and waving at her in a bid to follow. It was obviously the easier and more amorous part of the plan than the scheme Ryoga had pulled on Mousse. 

As they neared each other, they ran straight into the center of the thicket. When they reached the center, only a few feet away from each other, they nodded and shouted together, “Now!”

They both leaped straight up, landing on a tree branch, at the exact moment Mousse was throwing a bowling pin at Ryoga’s head. However, since Ryoga was no longer there to be hit, it sailed through empty space until it connected with a  _ thonk _ on Shampoo’s forehead. 

She teetered for a second, then fell sideways from her bike, unconscious, landing in the soft leaves. 

Mousse looked down in shock, squinting at the girl on the ground in front of him. “Shampoo? How did--Ranma! Where are you?”

“Up here!” Ranma whistled from the tree branch.

Mousse looked up to see the two other boys grinning and waving at him. “Two Ranmas?”

“Not exactly,” said Ryoga. He threw Mousse’s glasses back down to him and in one swift move, tore off Ranma’s clothes to reveal his own clothing underneath. Somehow he had even managed to put his bandana back on.

“Hey that was a nice shirt,” Ranma murmured.

“Ryoga? Why were you--?” Mousse put his glasses back on and looked back down at Shampoo, the realization of what happened slowly dawning on him. “This was a setup?”

“Isn’t it great Mousse?” said Ranma. “You and Shampoo can get married now!”

“Ranma Saotome,” Mousse said in a low, serious tone. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

The smile faded from Ranma’s face. “Eh? Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Mousse didn’t reply, but continued looking down at Shampoo, who had begun to stir. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she sat up, clutching her head. She looked around, blinking, seeing the bowling pin on the ground next to her bike. Mousse standing above her, 

“Mousse . . . you beat Shampoo?”

“Yes, Shampoo, it appears I have.”

Shampoo looked up at the tree where Ranma and Ryoga were sitting. 

“Ranma,” she said softly. “I sorry for you.”

“What? Why?”

“When two men defeat a Joketsuzoku warrior in battle, they must fight each other,” said Mousse. He looked up, the light reflecting sharply off of his glasses. “To the death.”

“Oh,” said Ranma. He grimaced as he squeaked out an anxious, “Cool.”

* * *

Mousse and Ranma squared off in the nearby baseball field. Ryoga and Shampoo watched from behind the giant fence. Ryoga mostly felt irritated at the hitch in their plans, but Shampoo was grasping the chain links nervously. 

_ Ranma, how are you gonna get yourself out of this one? _

“Look, Mousse, we don’t gotta do this.”

Ranma was in a defensive stance, one arm raised in front of him, weight on his back foot. 

“Silence, Ranma,” Mousse replied, spitting the words. “It’s time you got what was coming to you.”

“The whole dumb custom was outdated in the first place!” Ranma cried with exasperation. “This is just crazy!”

Mousse removed his outer robes, baring his chest. “A man to man fight is far from crazy.”

He bolted forward, throwing a punch at Ranma with an unprecedented amount of strength behind it. Ranma dodged it and as Mousse flew past him, Ranma hit him with a palm strike between the shoulder blades, causing him to stumble forward into the dirt. 

“Listen, Mousse, we fought before,” Ranma pleaded. “A million times!”

“This is different,” growled Mousse, rising to his feet. He began throwing a flurry of kicks and punches, all aimed at Ranma’s head.

Ranma was dodging them all with very little effort. “It’s not, not really. Look, I’m gonna win.”

“Are you sure about that?!” Mousse directed an elbow strike towards Ranma’s stomach, which Ranma expertly avoided by bending over in half and flipping forward, landing on his feet. 

“Yes!” Ranma cried. He started blocking Mousse’s punches, although even this was easy for him. “I always win! That’s what I do!”

“Ryoga was right, you do have no sense of shame!” Mousse spun a roundhouse kick that Ranma leaped over. 

“He said what?” In midair, Ranma looked over at Ryoga, on the far side of the field on the other side of the fence. Ryoga grinned and gave him a little wave. “It doesn’t matter!”

Ranma landed on his feet, his shoes sliding slightly in the dirt. “Listen. I have a secret.”

He kept his feet hip width apart, with one hand clenched in a fist. But his other hand he cupped to his mouth as though whispering a secret and beckoned Mousse to lean in.

Mousse, bless him, did.

“I have a pressure point on my back. Three vertebrae up. You hit, my legs go out for an hour.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Mousse yelled.

Ranma shrugged. “Let’s be real, I can’t just _ let _ you win. I can’t ever let anybody win. That’s just who I am. But you take out my legs, I can pretend to be dead for a little while, long enough for you to take Shampoo back to China to get married and have lots of little blind warrior babies!”

Mousse gaped at him. “Are you insane?”

“Maybe?” Ranma replied. “Mostly I’m just tired.”

“Well, I don’t need your help or your pity!” Mousse threw another punch, and this one connected with Ranma’s jaw, sending him flying back into the dirt. “See?”

Ranma, lying on his back, sighed. “Okay, if that’s how you wanna play it.”

Unaffected, he bounced up back to his feet, grounding his heels. He drew in a long breath, tightening his chest muscles as he brought his arms in front of him, ready to fight. Mousse assumed a defensive stance, and the two boys glared at each other across the pitcher’s mound. 

Ranma ran forward, on the offensive, sending a punch straight into Mousse’s gut. Mousse twisted away from the pain, but Ranma dropped his body low, causing Mousse to fall forward onto Ranma’s shoulders. Ranma lifted Mousse up and behind his back, flipping him so he landed on the ground. Mousse, short on breath, stayed there for a few seconds, stunned, but was able to quickly rally and return to his feet. 

He tried to echo Ranma’s move, also keeping his body low, but Ranma anticipated it and leapt over him easily. Mousse countered with a high knee, that hit Ranma in the hip, but at an odd angle so there was not enough power behind it to cause any damage. It did send Ranma off balance and Mousse was able to get in a punch to the ribs, but as he retracted his arm, Ranma grabbed hold and flipped Mousse again, throwing him several feet across the field. 

Mousse landed on his feet, sliding in the dirt. Ranma readied himself for another attack.

“It’s not fair!” yelled Mousse.

“What’s not fair?” 

“I have every reason in the world to win. I have all the hatred in the world for you! I’m stronger than I’ve ever been! And still!”

“Still what!”

“Still,  _ you’re better _ !” Mousse was shrieking now, in desperation. 

Ranma, surprised, dropped his guard even as Mousse ran towards him, readying a punch. In a moment of sadness, Ranma was going to let him hit.

There was a crack of thunder. 

“Ah. Rain,” said Ryoga. He opened his umbrella to shelter himself and Shampoo from the immediate ensuing downpour. 

Ranma, drenched, shrunk down to his girl form, and looked down at the ground. Where Mousse had stood, his fist inches away from Ranma’s face, was now a pair of wet pants covering an angry, squawking duck.

As the rain poured down, Ranma squatted and moved the pants back to look Mousse in the eye.

“See, Mousse? You really can’t win now. Let’s just call it a draw.”

Mousse quacked loudly and drove his bill right in between Ranma’s eyes.

“Ow! Stupid duck!”

Their fight continued, and now Mousse was actually at an advantage. Ranma’s shorter limbs made it harder to catch Mousse when he flew upwards, and Mousse’s smaller form allowed him to easily maneuver around Ranma’s body and peck at him in irritating spots. 

Ranma let his frustration get the better of him, slipping in the field that was quickly becoming mud. He twisted up in a lunge after Mousse, who flew down and pecked Ranma in the back in the exact pressure point that caused Ranma’s legs to go out from under him. Ranma collapsed to the ground, still trying to fend off Mousse with his hands, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding. 

On the other side of the fence, Shampoo frowned. “Why Ranma do this? So stupid.”

“Do you want a real answer, Shampoo?”

She cast a glance through heavy lidded eyes back at Ryoga. “Yes.”

Ryoga sighed, staring at the fight. “He loves Akane.”

Shampoo shook her head. “No. He love Shampoo. He come all the way to China to rescue!”

“Because we’re friends, Shampoo! We’re all your friends. Even me. Even Akane.”

Shampoo bit her bottom lip. “But why he try to make me marry Mousse? Why he do  _ this _ ?” 

She gestured behind her, where a boy who had changed into a girl was currently losing a fight to a duck. 

“You threatened to kill Akane, Shampoo,” Ryoga said. “And I don’t think he’ll ever forgive you for it.”

Shampoo turned around, clutching the links of the fence again. “Shampoo no really kill Akane. Just say so to get Ranma’s attention.”

“And that’s the problem, isn’t it?”

Shampoo was silent for a long moment. “Ranma really hate Shampoo that much?”

“I don’t think it’s hate, Shampoo.”

In the middle of the field, Ranma currently had Mousse around his duck neck, although all the flapping and quacking was making it difficult to maintain his hold. 

“All right, I’ve had enough of you--”

“Stop! Stop fight!”

Shampoo and Ryoga had walked out into the field, Ryoga making sure to keep them covered with the umbrella at all times.

Ranma and Mousse paused and looked up as Shampoo walked over to them. When she reached them, she knelt down, took Ranma’s face in her hand, and kissed him on the cheek.

“Wh-wh-what is that? Another kiss of death?!” Ranma asked in a panic as Mousse squawked loudly in his hands. 

“No,” Shampoo shook her head sadly. “Is kiss of release. You no longer have to marry Shampoo.”

Ranma stared at her, wide-eyed. “Really?”

“Really.” There were tears in her eyes, but she smiled and nodded.

Mousse, now free of Ranma’s grasp, started jumping and down, flapping his wings. Shampoo clamped a hand down on the duck, squashing him a bit to the ground. 

“But that no mean Shampoo marry Mousse either,” she said in a stern tone. “Shampoo choose own destiny.”

A smile spread across Ranma’s face. “Good for you.”

Shampoo giggled and nodded. She rose to her feet, turned her back, and walked into the rain, shedding her clothes as she took on her cat form. She paused once to look back and give a small meow, causing Ranma to jump in fright. Satisfied, she took off, leaping over the fence and through the trees. 

Mousse, still a duck, looked at Ranma, tilted his head, and gave a bow. Then, he too left, only he rose up into the air, flying away in the direction Shampoo had run. 

“All right, well another plan succeeded.” Ryoga grinned down at Ranma. “Although there were a few bumps along the way. Ready to go?”

“Can’t.”

“You can’t?”

“Legs don’t work.” Ranma shrugged.

With a sigh, Ryoga squatted down, his back turned to Ranma. He held one hand behind his back, the other holding the umbrella. “Come on.”

Ranma gratefully climbed onto Ryoga’s back to be carried, although he had to hold the umbrella so Ryoga could support his temporarily useless legs. 

As Ryoga stood up and started walking out of the field, Ranma said, “We’re starting to make a pretty good team, huh Ryoga?”

“That’s one way to look at it.”

* * *

“Thank you! Have a good one!”

Akane smiled and waved at the store clerk as she exited the front door of the shop. Pausing under the awning, she looked out at the street, worried at the sight of rain.

“Thank goodness I wore my coat,” she sighed to herself. She pulled up the large hood so it covered her hair, but still wished she had brought an umbrella. She walked through the rain, avoiding the bigger puddles, intentionally splashing in the smaller ones. The shopping bag she held bounced along with her step, although she was careful not to jostle it too much. Nodoka had asked her to buy some flour and eggs for dinner tonight, since Kasumi was going to be spending the evening with Tofu-sensei and Ranma and Ryoga were who-knows-where. Akane had happily agreed, eager to get out of the house for a little while. She had been cooped up by herself in the dojo for days, really only leaving to go to school, eat, or sleep. Ranma and Ryoga had been avoiding her, hiding in the storage shed or running off to undisclosed locations, claiming it was training. 

As she rounded the corner, she noticed an interesting sight. Across the street, Ryoga was walking down the street, carrying Ranma on his back. Ranma was currently a girl, and holding an umbrella over the two of them. They seemed to be laughing heartily at some joke she couldn’t hear. Ryoga bounced Ranma up and down on his back, clearly teasing. They didn’t notice her, but she stayed half hidden behind a hedge so they couldn’t. 

They turned into Tofu-sensei’s clinic at the end of the block. Akane frowned, but decided to turn the other way and go home.

* * *

“Well, Ranma, I’m impressed I taught you something.”

Tofu smiled as he took a seat in front of Ranma who was sitting on the examination bed. Kasumi brought in a tray with cups of tea and offered them to the boys. Both Ryoga and Ranma graciously accepted, chilled from the rainy weather. 

“Thank you, Kasumi,” said Tofu as he took a cup as well. 

“You’re welcome,” she replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. His glasses steamed up only a little, but he remained composed. She took a seat in a chair at the desk nearby, also turning to face Ranma. 

“So I think you’ll have to let the effect on your legs wear off. Shouldn’t be too long now. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

Ryoga started to shake his head, but Ranma nodded. “Yeah, Mousse got in a pretty good shot to my ribs.”

Ranma lifted up the bottom of his shirt, displaying his torso, dark purple bruising forming on his right side, and also one of his breasts.

“Hey!” shouted Ryoga, blushing. “You’re a girl right now!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” said Tofu. “I’m a doctor after all. Now let’s have a look.”

He leaned forward, gently massaging Ranma’s ribcage, giving a light squeeze. Ranma breathed in sharply but didn’t make any other noise. Tofu continued his prodding for a few minutes, then sat back and frowned. “I don’t think they’re broken, but that bruising is pretty bad. It could be serious damage.”

“You didn’t even flinch when he did that to you,” Ryoga said.

Ranma gave him a sly half-grin. “What can I say? I’m that good.”

“Your ego is still unbruised, I see.”

“I think what we’ll do for now is wrap it,” said Tofu. “I’ll have to turn you back into a boy first. Keep it iced, twenty minutes at a time, and try not to strain yourself for a couple of weeks. And if the pain gets worse, come right back and we’ll x-ray.”

“Okay, doc.” Ranma lowered his shirt.

“Excuse me, I’ll go and get the bandages,” he said, standing up. 

Kasumi stood with him. “And I’ll get some hot water.”

The two adults left the room, leaving Ranma and Ryoga alone.

Ryoga crossed his arms. “You know, it is frustrating.”

“What?”

“How  _ good _ you are.”

Ranma shrugged. “You’re almost as good.”

“Yeah. ‘Almost.’”

“Hey, Ryoga, I know I brag a lot, but--”

“But?”

“It’s only because I am really, really good.”

Ryoga’s eye twitched. “If you weren’t hurt, I’d hit you again.”

“Okay, but seriously. Yes, I am good, maybe the best--”

“Ranma--”

“But! I had to go through hell to get there.”

Ryoga gave him an appraising look. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Trust me, Ryoga, you don’t want to go through what I had to go through. Haven’t you been through enough?”

Ryoga thought about it. “Yeah, maybe so. Still, one day, I’m sure I’ll beat you.”

Ranma grinned, but didn’t give him an inch. 

“I doubt it.”

* * *

The next morning was tough. Ranma woke up early, hoping he could manage to walk to school with Akane. However, it took him so long to re-adjust his bandages he still ended up leaving late. He was trying to hide the bruising from his mother, who kept returning to the bedroom for this or that, or to ask after his ready status. Every time she would re-enter, Ranma would drop the bandage and dive under his blanket, causing her to fret and ask more questions. 

Finally, he managed to wrap himself well enough and dressed and left for school. When he arrived, the day hadn’t begun yet, and there were small groups of students milling about the entrance. Ranma saw Akane talking with her friends Yuka and Sayuri by the gate, and he leapt up onto the opposite stone ledge and crouched down, knees to his chest, to watch her from behind. 

“Oh man, it must have taken me three hours to get through that math homework last night,” Yuka moaned. 

“It took me at least four!” Sayuri commisserated with her. 

“Really?” said Akane. “I didn’t think it was that bad. Maybe only thirty minutes?”

“Ah, Akane, math is your best subject though!” Sayuri waved a hand dismissively. 

“Really? I always thought it was literature--”

“No way!” said Yuka. “Your math scores are always near the top of the class!”

“Yeah, weren’t you number two last week?”

“Well--”

_ Bring-bring, bring-bring! _

A good chunk of the student body, Ranma included, tensed up reflexively at the sound of the bicycle bell. From his high angle, Ranma could see Akane’s shoulders go taut under her school uniform, the hair at the base of her neckline raising up. 

_ Bring-bring, bring-bring! _

As expected, Shampoo sailed by on her bicycle. But she wasn’t on the fence, she was on the street, where bicycles were supposed to be. And she didn’t stop either, not even to look back at Ranma. He let out a big sigh of relief as she continued down the street.

Akane watched Shampoo ride away, raising an eyebrow. Turning, she looked up at the ledge where Ranma was also staring after Shampoo, grinning like an idiot. Something was changing, but she couldn’t put her finger on what. She pursed her lips and turned back to her friends, who were begging her for answers from last night’s homework.

“Wow, she must be in a hurry today, eh Ranma?” His friend Hiroshi leaned against the bottom of the ledge Ranma was perched on.

“Did you do something to piss her off?” asked his other friend, Daisuke, also looking up at him from the sidewalk.

“Nope!” said Ranma, flashing them a peace sign.

“Wish she had stayed longer,” Hiroshi said.

“She sure is nice to look at,” agreed Daisuke.

Ranma stuck his tongue out at them. “Do you two only ever think of one thing?”

The pair looked up at Ranma and replied in unison, “Yes!”

* * *

After school Ranma’s bandages were starting to slip again. He stopped by Tofu’s clinic but it turned out he was on a day trip with Kasumi, so Ranma went home to try wrapping them himself again. He struggled with it for most of the afternoon, and after dinner he finally marched into the guest room and threw the bandage roll at Ryoga’s head. 

“What is your problem?” asked Ryoga, catching the roll as it bounced.

Ranma grimaced and crossed his arms in the doorway. “I need your help.”

“Seems like that’s been happening a lot lately.”

“Yeah, yeah. I can’t do it myself. So, help?”

Ryoga rolled his eyes. “Sure.”

The two decided to make an attempt at wrapping in the front part of the bathroom that doubled as a laundry room. Ryoga rested the bandage roll on the washing machine as Ranma lifted up his tank top.

“Ugh, Ranma, these bruises look pretty bad still.”

“Day-olds always look bad. Just wrap it up.”

Ryoga also struggled with the maneuver, finding it difficult to hold one end in the right place while wrapping the other around Ranma’s torso. He kept ending up in an awkward embrace with Ranma, repeatedly pressing his face into his chest.

“What are you doing, man? Quit hugging me!”

“How else am I supposed to do this?!”

“Tofu-sensei could do it without hugging me.”

“Well I’m not a doctor!”

It was at this moment that the door slid open, revealing Akane. She had her hair pulled back from her face in a terrycloth headband and was holding a bath towel, although still dressed in her training clothes.

Ranma yanked his tank top back down quickly, although in doing so he managed to shove Ryoga’s hands down until they caressed the front of his pants. Ryoga yelped and leaped back, and both boys blushed bright red. 

“What’s going on?” Akane asked.

“Nothing!” they exclaimed in reply. 

She furrowed her brow. “Ranma, what was that?”

“What was what?”

“Under your shirt. Show me.”

Ranma exhaled, his cheeks puffing with air. Avoiding her gaze, he pulled up the bottom of his tank top once more, revealing the dark blue and purple bruising in a broad pattern over the left side of his ribs. 

Akane’s expression softened. “You’re really hurt!”

She walked forward and set her towel on top of the washing machine. Gingerly, she touched Ranma’s bruises with her fingertips. “How did this happen?”

He shrugged. “Same way they always happen. Got in a fight.”

She turned and glared at Ryoga. “Did you do this, Ryoga-kun?”

“What? No! It was Mousse!”

“Mousse?” Akane turned back to look at Ranma’s bruise. “You must have really made him mad.”

“Who don’t I make mad?”

“Does this have something to do with how Shampoo just flew right on by the school this morning, without so much as a nihao?”

Ranma, trying to suppress a smirk, simply shrugged and replied, “Maybe.”

“Hmm,” said Akane. “And what are you two doing now?”   


“Ryoga was just trying to help me wrap up my ribs, like Tofu-sensei did.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I can help with that. I used to help Tofu-sensei out at the clinic in junior high. Here, Ryoga-kun, hold this.” She took one end of the bandage and positioned it low on Ranma’s torso. Ryoga followed her directions and held the end into place as she began to wrap. 

“Ranma, take a deep breath in and hold it, okay?”

He nodded and inhaled, pulling his navel in. He stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the tingle his skin felt whenever Akane touched him. Her arms were so short she had to lean in closely with every circular wrap, her chest bumping up against his. He tried to ignore that too, feeling the muscles in his neck tighten and beads of sweat forming on his forehead. 

“All right, Ryoga-kun, you can let go.” She fastened the bandage into place. “Breathe out, Ranma.”

He exhaled, savoring the release. She still kept her hands, palms flat, on the front of his torso. 

“Okay, breathe in one more time?”

Inhale.

“And out.”

Exhale.

“Does it hurt?”

“Not really,” Ranma murmured. 

“Is it too tight?”

“No, it--it feels pretty good. Secure.” He looked down at her as she took her hands away. She didn’t look up at him though. He let his tank top fall back down over his stomach. 

“All right, good.” She turned and picked up her towel. “Are you guys done in here?”

“Oh, oh yeah, yeah--”

“Yeah, we got stuff--”

“Stuff we gotta--”

“We gotta do, yeah.”

They awkwardly stumbled out of the bathroom and into the hallway, the door sliding shut behind them. 

“So what stuff do we gotta do?” asked Ryoga.

“Hmm? What?” Ranma was staring off into space with a goofy grin on his face. 

Ryoga wrinkled his nose. “What’s wrong with you?”

“That Akane, you know, just,” he smiled dreamily. “She’s something else.”

“Do you only think about one thing?”

“Right now? Yeah.”

“Gross.”


	6. The Hardest Part

The next, and hopefully final, part of Ranma’s and Ryoga’s plan was the most difficult yet. They were completely stumped. Everyday after school they locked themselves up in the storage shed, trying to think of some new angle, or some new scheme. They mostly ended up pacing and shaking sense into each other, mostly literally. 

Ranma kept staring over at the piece of paper, with the name Shampoo now crossed out. All that remained was number three. 

Ukyo.

“How am I supposed to do this?” He cried, throwing his hands up in the air. “I can’t fight her. Not like she would fight me anyway.”

“Can’t trick someone else into marrying her,” Ryoga said, as they crossed paths while pacing. 

“Maybe I can give her a new okonomiyaki cart?”

“She has a whole okonomiyaki restaurant!” 

Ranma brought his hands to his head, ready to pull his hair out. “There’s no solution. There’s nothing.”

Everyday in school, he couldn’t pay attention. Not as though that was super unusual for him, but it was worse now. All of his thoughts were focused on one thing. 

He didn’t realize how closely Akane was watching him. Looking over at his desk as he scribbled in his notebook whenever inspiration hit him, or just absentmindedly as he stared off into space. Craning her neck, she peeked over his arm, trying to see what he was writing. 

_Ukyo. Ukyo. Ukyo Ukyo Ukyo. Ryoga. Ryoga + Ukyo=???? Ukyo. Ukyo._

She narrowed her eyes and frowned. She felt like she had all the pieces of the puzzle, but had no idea what the picture was supposed to be.

* * *

The struggle went on for nearly two weeks. Ranma’s ribs healed without even a mark left on his skin. Tofu gave him one final exam and announced how pleased he was with Ranma’s recovery, but still warned him there could be internal damage they weren’t seeing and to still not exert himself too much. Ranma agreed, but didn’t really internalize the advice. 

On a Sunday afternoon, Ranma and Ryoga took cold cans of juice into the storage shed to go over their notes again. As they sat in the dim environment, slowly sipping their drinks, neither one could think of anything to say. 

After nearly half an hour, Ryoga spoke. “I think we’ve talked this to death. Maybe we can just skip it?”

“No, we can’t just avoid the problem,” Ranma looked down at the can in his hands. An idea struck him at that exact moment, but he winced at the thought of it. “Oh no. I know what I have to do.”

“What?” Ryoga asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

Ranma told him, and Ryoga gasped.

“No, no way! Are you serious?!”

They fought about it for hours. Screaming. Crying. Throwing things. Punching each other. It was nearly dinner time when they finally came to a truce. 

Panting with exertion, Ranma wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “So that’s it, then. It’s the only way.”

Ryoga nodded sadly. “I hate this for you.”

“Probably the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done.”

“You’re a braver man than me.”

“I have to--” Ranma clenched his fist in front of his chest. The rising tides of change splashed behind him. “Have a mature, adult conversation!”

Ryoga gave him a somber salute, tears streaming down his face. “Godspeed, comrade.”

* * *

Ranma stood in front of Ucchan’s okonomiyaki restaurant, fists balled up at his sides. He had faced demons, ghosts, and gods. The greatest warriors China had to offer. Hordes of enemies facing him down every day. The loss of his strength, the struggle to gain it back. The despair of being trapped in a cursed body that could change with little warning. Every form of martial arts imaginable.

He gulped down his fear. Nothing had prepared him for how scary this was. He’d rather be thrown in a basement of starving cats. 

Ryoga, even when helping him plan out what to say, had still pleaded with Ranma to change his mind. But there was no other solution.

Hands trembling, he opened the front door of the restaurant and stepped inside.

“Ranchan!” Ukyo immediately looked up from behind the grill. Even though it wasn’t quite dinnertime, the place was still fairly busy. Konatsu politely waited on customers and smiled gently at Ranma. “It’s nice to see you.”

“Nice to see you too,” Ranma murmured, looking down. Fiddling his fingers together, he walked over to the counter, trying to avoid eye contact. “Listen, Ucchan--”

“What’s up?”

“Can we talk? Privately?’

The smile faded from her face. “Sure. Konatsu, watch the grill?”

“Yes, Ukyo-sama!”

She flipped her spatula in the air over to Konatsu, who caught it deftly with one hand, and turned back to Ranma. “Shall we?”

She led him upstairs to the small apartment above the restaurant. In the living room was a table with two wooden chairs, and they each sat in one, facing each other. Ukyo leaned one elbow on the table and crossed her legs. 

“So, Ranchan? What’s going on? Is there something wrong?”

Ranma stared at the ground, leaning over, his elbows resting on his knees. His heart was thundering in his ears, and not in the warm fluttering way like whenever he saw Akane smile. His stomach was tight and he wondered if he would ever have an appetite again. Usually the smell of fresh okonomiyaki was enough to get him salivating, but right now even the thought of food repulsed him. Suddenly his breath started to get sharper, coming in and out in short bursts. He clutched his chest. Was he hyperventilating?

“Ranchan! Oh no, hold on I’ll get you some water!” Ukyo rushed over to the sink and retrieved a glass, quickly filling it and bringing it back to the table. Ranma took it from her eagerly and gulped it down, trying to regain his composure. 

“Ranchan, I think you’re having a panic attack. Do you need to go to the doctor?”

“No, no!” He slapped his own face with both hands and closed his eyes. Trying to remember all the boring parts of his training, the ones with the breathing exercises and meditation. Slowly, he started to clear his mind. 

_I ro ha_.

Fundamentals. 

He opened his eyes. Ukyo was sitting in her chair again, but looked extremely concerned. “Ranchan, I’ve never known you to be so anxious. What is--”

“I can’t marry you, Ucchan!” he shouted, louder than he intended.

“What?”

“I’m sorry, I--” He paused, cleared his throat, lowered his voice. “I’m sorry to just say it like that. We’re friends, and I know we’ve been friends for a long time. And I want to stay friends, but I just--I can’t marry you Ucchan. You have to give up on me. The truth is, I mean, the truth is--I love Akane. I really do. And I don’t want to hurt your feelings. I never wanna hurt anybody. But I wanna be with her. I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me.”

He let out a long breath. The tension in his stomach was starting to release. He looked up at Ukyo.

She was staring at him, wide-eyed, slowly blinking. He wondered if she was going to cry. He wouldn’t be able to handle that. 

She opened her mouth slightly, closed it, looked upward, raising her eyebrows, tilted her head, and then burst out laughing.

“What the--Ucchan! What is so funny?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she said, still laughing, wiping tears from her eyes with one hand and holding her stomach with the other. “Aah, you’re so serious!”

“Of course I am!” Ranma shouted. Anger was quickly starting to replace his anxiety.

“I’m sorry,” she said again, letting out a last couple of chuckles. “It’s just--I’ve been dating Hayato for the past month.”

“Hayato?” Ranma racked his brain, trying to put a face to the name. “The takoyaki guy?”

“That’s the one,” she nodded, smiling.

Ranma grimaced, remembering the weird octopus mask that kid had worn the last time they encountered each other. “But doesn’t he--?”

“He doesn’t wear the mask anymore,” Ukyo said, rolling her eyes. “No need to.”

“So you guys are--?”

“Turns out we had a lot in common,” Ukyo smiled. “We’re both really passionate about food, and about being the best. We’re even going to open a restaurant together.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She held up her hands as if displaying an invisible sign. “ _Okonomi-to-takoyaki_. What do you think?”

“Sounds good to me.” Ranma smiled. “But what about Konatsu?”

“Konatsu? He’s fine.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he doesn’t seem jealous or anything. I think he’s just happy to have a warm place to sleep,” Ukyo said. “I’m happy for you and Akane, though.”

“Is that so?”

“Sure, it was pretty clear the two of you were bound to get together sooner or later. It finally happening is big news!”

“Oh, well, we’re not--”

“Not?”

“Not--together, exactly.”

“Ranchan.” Ukyo’s tone grew stern. “Are you going around telling other people you love Akane without telling her first?”

He scratched his chin. “Is that not good?”

She sighed. “You really are clueless about girls, huh?”

“I’m trying not to be.”

His voice was so soft it startled her. She took a long look at him, his hunched over posture, the sadness in his eyes. “Hey, Ranchan.”

“Mm?”

“You’ve been acting really strange lately.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, in school you’re always zoned out, even in gym class. You haven’t been in to eat for months. And now you come in here to break up with me when you don’t even need to and have a panic attack about it. None of that is like you.”

“I guess not,” Ranma said, frowning. He had been so concerned with how oddly Akane had been acting lately that he hadn’t noticed the change in his own behavior. 

“You know--”

“What?”

“This all started when you came back from China,” Ukyo said. “What happened over there?”

Ranma turned his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You said you still wanted to be friends with me. Friends worry. What happened?”

“Something I hate thinking about.” The nightmares were bad enough. _Akane was smiling--_ Wasting daylight hours on those memories would steal even more time away from him. _Her eyes were closed--_ He tried shaking his head to clear his thoughts, forgetting he was sitting in Ukyo’s living room with her watching. _He was too late--_ He clenched his jaw. _She’s not waking up--_

“Okay, Ranchan,” Ukyo said softly. “But if you’re ever ready, I’m here.”

“Thanks, Ucchan,” he replied. “But trust me, right now, I’m trying to fix it.”

“I believe you.” She clapped her hands together. “I’ll help! Let’s start by getting you something to eat. Free of charge, of course!”

Now that his source of stress was gone, Ranma was starving. “Sounds good!”

They went back downstairs to the restaurant, but before they even reached the bottom step, Ukyo screeched “Hayato!” in a high-pitched, girly tone and jumped from the stairs straight into her boyfriend’s arms. He caught her easily and spun her around and she planted a kiss on his cheek. 

_She must really like him_ , Ranma thought, although the public display made him a bit uncomfortable. And he wasn’t the only one. In the corner, Konatsu was glowering and clutching a spatula, a fierce dark aura emanating around him. Maybe he was more jealous than Ukyo thought.

 _Finally, a love triangle I’m not a part of_ , Ranma thought as he shrugged and took a seat at the counter. Ukyo and Hayato both took positions behind the grill, Hayato pulling out the recessed steel tray he used to fry the takoyaki. They both made small speeches to Ranma, extolling the virtues of their respective cuisines. Ranma told them he was happy to eat both, and they piled his plate high with food. 

The couple worked well together, but it was clear they were still competitive. Still, the fire for competition seemed to translate well into passion for each other and both seemed happy with the other’s ambition. 

“All right guys, I’m done,” Ranma said after several courses of both dishes. He was starting to feel bloated. 

“Are you sure?” asked Hayato. “Because I’ve been working on a new batter--”

“I’m sure, I’m sure!” Ranma waved his hands pleadingly. “I’m gonna burst if I eat anymore.”

“Okay, get out of here,” said Ukyo with a smile. “But come back anytime.”

“Thanks Ucchan.” Ranma hopped to his feet and headed to the door. “I will!”

“Oh, and Ranchan?”

“Yeah?” He paused and looked back at her.

“Good luck.”

He nodded. “Thanks.”

* * *

Even though his stomach was full, he felt so light on his feet he ran all the way home. Was the sun shining? It had to be. Were birds singing? They had to be. Nothing else was in his way now. He was free. Free.

He ran through the front gates of the Tendo household. Ryoga was there, sweeping the front walk, his back turned. Ranma took a running leap and jumped on the other boy’s back, grabbing his neck in a goofy embrace.

“Ryoga!”

“What the hell are you doing?!” Ryoga yelled, stumbling forward and bent over.

“Ryoga it worked! I did it! I’m free! I don’t have any problems any more!”

“Oh, you definitely still have problems,” Ryoga grumbled, leaning on the broom for support.

“Come on, come on, let’s go cross it off the list!”

“Fine, just get off me first!”

“No!”

* * *

Ryoga reluctantly carried Ranma all the way to the storage shed. Immediately upon entering, Ranma jumped off Ryoga’s back, his feet using Ryoga’s head as a stepping stone. He rushed over to their large notepad that had the list, picked up the black marker sitting next to it, and triumphantly crossed Ukyo’s name off the list. He held up the paper and turned to Ryoga, beaming.

“Check it out!”

“Yeah, that’s great Ranma,” Ryoga sighed, straightening his back and rubbing his head. He slid the door to the shed shut behind him. “Glad it went well.”

“It did! And we don’t need any of this anymore,” he gestured to the wall behind him, covered in notes. He took a garbage bag from the roll sitting on the shelf and started ripping the papers down, humming as he threw them away. 

Ryoga watched him for a moment and then crossed his arms. “Ranma.”

“What?”

“You know there’s still something you have to do, right?”

Ranma looked down at the bag full of wadded up papers. “No, what?”

“Ranma.”

“What?”

“Ran-ma!”

“Ryo-ga!” Ranma mocked him.

Ryoga gritted his teeth. “You need to talk to Akane.”

“Oh. That.” Ranma jostled the bag in his hands. “Ah, fuck.”

“Isn’t that what we were doing this whole thing for?!”

“Yeah, I just,” Ranma shrugged. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to, you know, tell her.”

“I guess you just,” Ryoga paused. “You just--”

He trailed off, making a series of vague hand gestures.

“Well, how did you tell Akari?”

“Tell Akari what?”

“That you loved her.”

“Tell her that I loved her,” Ryoga repeated. 

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Well, I--you know-- “

“Ryoga,” said Ranma. “Have you not told Akari you love her?”

Ryoga shrugged. “Maybe not.”

“Ryoga! I learned today that that is bad.”

“You’re giving me relationship advice?”

Ranma nodded. “I am very wise now.”

“Ranma, you are the last person in the world I would ever take advice about girls from,” Ryoga sighed. 

“Ah! Why not? Girls love me!”

“Yeah, but that’s only because--” Ryoga stopped himself.

“Because?”

“Because of your looks!” Ryoga hated to admit it, but Ranma was, unfortunately, a handsome man, and had the confidence to back it up.

“That’s ridiculous, I have plenty to offer besides my looks.”

“Like what?”

“Like--” Ranma’s bottom lip pointed upward like a frog as he concentrated. “I’m very strong.”

“Okay, is that it?”

“What else do you need?”

Ryoga knocked him on the head. “This is why I’m not taking advice from you!”

“That one really hurt,” Ranma pouted, rubbing his head sullenly. 

“Stop avoiding the subject,” Ryoga said. “You need to tell Akane how you feel about her.”

“Do I have to?” Ranma whined. “I feel like the whole town knows by now already.”

“Yes, you have to!”

“But that means I have to have another conversation about my feelings!” Ranma moaned. “Can’t I just, I don’t know, go on a decade long training trip to the North Pole instead?”

“Ranma!”

“Fine, fine! I know you’re right. But what if . . .”

“What if?”

“What if she--what if she rejects me?” Ranma knelt down, knees to his chest, poking his index fingers together at the tip.

Ryoga blinked. “So there’s a weakness in the armor of your ego after all.”

He knelt down next to Ranma and gave him an awkward pat on the back. 

“Look, I don’t think she’ll reject you.”

“Really?”

“I know her pretty well, and, I hate to say it, but for as long as I’ve known her, she’s only had eyes for you. And trust me, that was really frustrating sometimes.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Ryoga stood up and stretched. “Do you want me to help you think of a plan?”

Ranma shook his head. “I gotta do this part myself.”

“Ranma? Ryoga? Time for dinner!”

Kasumi’s voice was calling them and they smiled, relieved at the breaking of tension. Eagerly, they headed into the main house. 

The rest of the family was already at the table. Genma and Akane were already shoveling in food as fast as they could. Ranma and Ryoga took their seats on either side of Akane and thanked Kasumi for the food. Ryoga ate normally, but Ranma only took a bowl of rice and picked at it. 

“Ranma-kun? Is everything all right?” Kasumi asked.

“Oh, yeah, I’m just not that hungry,” Ranma said, giving her a reassuring smile.

In a flash, his mother was at his side, squeezing herself in between him and his father. She placed her palm on his forehead and felt for his pulse in his wrist with her other hand. “Are you ill? Are you feverish? Did somebody hurt you?”

“No, Mom!” Laughing, he tried to shake her off. “I just ate a big meal already!”

“Really, where?”

“At Ucchan’s.”

“Thank you for the meal!” Akane slammed her empty rice bowl down on the table. Without another word, she walked out of the room, presumably to practice in the dojo. 

Ranma felt the urge to go after her, but his mother was still feeling his face, looking for any hint of a fever. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Mom!”

“Well tell me next time before I have a heart attack!”

“You didn’t exactly give me a chance!”

Nodoka brought her hands to her chin and chewed on the ends of her kimono sleeves, crocodile tears in her eyes. “Don’t yell at your mother! I’m just worried about you!”

“She really is just like Ranma,” Ryoga muttered, accidentally out loud. 

Both mother and son turned to him with identical indignant expressions and cried in one voice, “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Ryoga placed his hands flat together in a prayer position and bowed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“It’s been nice having Ryoga-kun here, hasn’t it father?” Kasumi asked Soun.

“Well it has been another mouth to feed,” Sound replied, ignoring the admonishments Ranma and Nodoka were raining down on Ryoga in alternating voices. “But it’s been quieter overall, so that’s a blessing.”

Ryoga and Ranma were now wrestling with each other and tumbled off the deck into the yard. They continued struggling until they both tripped and fell into the koi pond with a big splash, emerging as a wet girl and a small pig. 

Soun shrugged. “Maybe not right now, though.”


	7. Easy as That

Ranma went to bed that night excited but nervous. For the first time in a long time, he had a clear path in front of him that led directly to what he wanted. The only hurdle left was himself, and if anybody could beat that guy, well, Ranma could. 

Exhaustion, not only from the day, but from the past couple of months, fully overtook him the second he crawled under his blanket. He had hoped that he was so tired that it would be a dreamless sleep. 

The nightmares came anyway. They always did.

A flash of heat. A flutter of clothes. Darkness. Nothing. Akane dead, in his arms. It was too late. He hadn’t saved her. He hadn’t told her. She didn’t move. She would never move again.

He woke up in a cold sweat, sitting straight up in his futon, gasping for breath. All of his muscles were on high alert. He thought this would stop, he thought he had fixed it--

“Ranma?” His mother, rolling over sleepily, asking through half-open eyes. 

“Go back to sleep, Mom, I’m fine.” 

“Nightmares again?”

Ranma didn’t reply.

She sat up, ignoring her husband’s snoring. “Come with me.”

She led Ranma to the living room and told him to sit at the table. She opened up the sliding doors into the garden and then left him alone for a few minutes. He took the time to look out at the pond, the moonlight reflecting off the water. The cool night air felt good on his skin, although as it dried up his sweat he felt a chill travel up his spine. 

Nodoka returned with two cups. She handed one to Ranma and took a seat next to him, simply sitting in silence as they both sipped from their tea. 

“You know,” she said, when they were about halfway through. “I wish I could have been there for you to do this when you were younger.”

Ranma didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.

“I’m always impressed by what a fine man you turned out to be. Especially as your father seems to have gotten worse over the years.” She took another sip of her tea. “But we’re working on it.”

“Good luck,” said Ranma softly. 

She smiled. “You’re so strong willed. I don’t know where you get it from. Not from your father. And certainly not from me. If I had been stronger, maybe he wouldn’t have been able to take you away from me.”

“Mom--”

“And you wouldn’t be having nightmares every night.”

“That’s got nothing to do with you.”

“I know.” She reached out and touched his shoulder. “It’s about Akane.”

Ranma nearly spilled his tea. “How did you know that?”

Her gaze was so kind as she spoke. “Every night, when you wake up, you yell her name.”

Ranma said nothing. He looked down at his cup of tea. 

“I know something must have happened in China. Akane-chan has been acting strangely as well. Sometimes after you go back to sleep, I get up to make myself a cup of tea, and she’s out in the dojo, with the lights on, attacking the air. I used to offer her a cup as well, but she always refused.”

Ranma looked up at his mother. “You never told me this before.”

“I didn’t think she wanted you to know,” Nodoka said. “Perhaps I shouldn’t be telling you know.”

They paused. Ranma wiped his mouth with one hand. 

“It’s not really manly for me to keep having bad dreams, huh?”

“Everyone has nightmares, Ranma. Especially when they’ve been through something terrible.” She leaned in, putting her arm around him, and rested her head on his shoulder. “Maybe one day you can tell me what happened.”

Ranma looked out and up at the moon. “You really wanna know, Mom?”

She pulled back and looked up at him, smiling. “Yes. I do.”

So he told her. He told her everything from the beginning. Not just what happened in China. Not just what happened since he moved in with the Tendos. His whole life. Changing schools. Getting thrown into a den of starving cats. Being sold and stolen for food. The few times his dad was supportive or caring, when he was sick or injured. Stealing bread from Ryoga in junior high and waiting for his fight. Swimming across the sea. Trekking across China, falling in at Jusenkyo. Beating Shampoo in a fight and fleeing. Meeting Akane, and how wrong it went the first time. How Akane had to fight every boy in school. Akane’s crush on Tofu-sensei. Ryoga reappearing and nearly killing him and cutting Akane’s hair. An ice skating tournament. The reappearance of Shampoo and how they ended up engaged. Kodachi’s obsession. Kuno’s obsession. Discovering Ukyo was actually a girl. Martial arts tea ceremony. Martial arts gourmet dining. Martial arts cheerleading.

And then came what happened in China. In Jusendo. How they had kidnapped Akane just to hurt him. And how it had worked. How Akane had sacrificed herself for him. How he was convinced she was dead and then he lost the will to live. How the hope had come back into his heart when she was alive, but small. How he had fought, and fought, and fought. Just to save her. How he had stopped caring, how he had forgotten, about restoring Jusenkyo, because all he wanted to do was save Akane. How he had almost been too late. How he had thought he had been too late, because she couldn’t move, couldn’t respond. And then when she had been alive, when she had said his name, it hadn’t felt real. He still couldn’t believe it was real. 

She had been there for the disaster of a wedding, so he didn’t need to tell her about that, but he told her how it seemed like Akane had stopped caring about him for a while. And how Ryoga had visited and helped them and they came up with their plan and it worked! It really worked! But he had one thing left to do and he was terrified to do it.

Nodoka listened. Asked questions. Held back tears at certain parts. Mostly, she listened. 

No one had ever listened to him before. Not like this. 

“So I guess that’s it,” Ranma said. He tilted up his cup and drank the last bit of tea. It was cold now. The sun was coming up. 

“Thank you for telling me,” Nodoka said. She took his tea cup from him and stood up.

“Do you have any advice, Mom?”

She blinked down at him in surprise. “You’re actually asking me?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well.” She looked outside at the morning sun. Pink sunbeams were streaking their way through the haze of the city. “I married young, and maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. But I have you now, so I wouldn’t change it.”

“I’m not sure--”

“Wait just a moment,” Nodoka said. “I might not have done the right thing in marrying young, but I think things would be different with you and Akane.”

“Really?” 

“Oh yes. You’re a different man than your father and she’s a different woman than me. The two of you are so strong. I’m proud of you both.”

“Thanks Mom.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. It definitely wouldn’t be manly to cry in front of his mother at sunrise. At least that’s what he told himself.

“Now how about you help me make breakfast in the kitchen so we can let Kasumi sleep in for once?”

“Sure.”

* * *

Ranma could not keep himself still for any portion of time throughout the schoolday. He kept bouncing one leg up and down while sitting at his desk, and twenty minutes before the last class ended he stood up, gathered his things, walked over to the window, and jumped out.

The teacher merely sighed and returned to giving a summary of the lesson. Some of the students rolled their eyes, but no one else said a word.

Ranma took the time to climb to the top of a telephone pole across the street. He kept his eyes on the front door of the school, his brain cycling through a million different scenarios at lightning speed. 

_“So what should I do Mom?” he asked her over the hiss of the eggs on the frying pan._

_His mother rinsed a knife off in the sink. “Just tell her how you feel. Easy as that.”_

Easy as that. Ranma let out a deep sigh from the top of the telephone pole. 

The school bell chimed the end of day and the students began filing out. He was surprised to see a good number of them fighting and scuffling, some of them just plain throwing each other across the yard. He paused and tilted his head, and realized he didn’t really recognize any of them. Then it occurred to him. 

_There are other people who have problems in my school._

He shrugged and resumed watch on the door. It wasn’t long before Akane exited, accompanied by Yuka and Sayuri. He waited until they walked closer to the gates, then quickly slid down the pole and jumped behind Akane, landing easily on both feet. 

“Yo!”

Akane turned over her shoulder to look at him, nodded, and turned back to her friends. 

“Wait, Akane--”

“What is it?” She turned around fully this time, her voice weary. 

“I was just wondering--”

“Hmm?”

“Just wondering--”

“Yes?”

Her big eyes blinked up at him slowly but expressionlessly. He desperately wanted to know what she was thinking. 

“Would you like to stop at the cafe with me today?”

“Well, I don’t know, Yuka and Sayuri and I were going to--” Akane turned to look back at her friends. 

Yuka and Sayuri took one look at Ranma’s glowering face and looming black aura and waved their hands. 

“Actually, Akane, I just remembered, I have to babysit--” said Sayuri.

“And I have a part time job starting today!” said Yuka. 

“Oh. Okay.” Akane frowned. “See you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow!” they cried while running away down the street. 

“Strange,” Akane murmured. She turned back to Ranma, who instantly changed his demeanor to friendly and charming. “I guess we can go to the cafe.”

“Great!” He smiled. 

They fell into step alongside each other. He had forgotten how easy it was to walk together. Even though her legs were shorter, her pace was always brisk and they could keep a good rhythm. 

As they reached the end of the block, Ranma realized the two of them hadn’t said anything else. He tried to think of something. How was school? No, he had sat next to her all day. How was lunch? He had watched her eat from across the classroom. How was--when had they been apart? How was the girl’s locker room? Then she would think he was a real pervert. Ah, I know--

“So do you have any plans for the weekend?” Boom, nailed it. 

“Oh,” she said thoughtfully as they crossed the street. “Nabiki is coming home this weekend. She wanted to go to a movie, maybe. Or karaoke.”

“Sounds fun,” Ranma replied. Both girls could sing pretty well. “I’ve seen you guys do karaoke before, you put on a good show.”

“So do you,” said Akane. “When you’re a girl anyway.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Your singing as a guy is--” She made a so-so motion with her hand. 

“Well it could be worse,” said Ranma. “You should hear my old man.”

“No thanks!” There was a lighter lilt to her voice, as though she were teasing, although she didn’t smile or laugh. “Ah, here we are.”

They had been to this cafe a million times before. Sometimes with others. Sometimes just the two of them. Often, Ranma was in his female form, trying to scam a free sundae from a love stricken waiter. Today felt so similar to all the times they had been there before. They sat in a booth by the front window. Same booth they nearly always sat in. He ordered a slice of cheesecake, she ordered a banana split. 

“No parfait today Ranma?” Akane asked as she handed her menu back to the waiter. 

“No way,” he replied. “Ice cream is for girls.”

“But cheesecake isn’t?”

“I don’t make the rules, Akane.”

“I think in this case you very much do.”

He looked closely and he wasn’t positive, but the corner of her mouth almost, just barely, was slanting upward. Not a smile. Not quite. Not ready yet.

“Cheesecake is mostly cheese, anyway,” said Ranma. “So it’s not like it’s really a sweet.”

“Cream cheese, Ranma,” said Akane. “It’s not like regular cheese. It’s more like cream.”

“Well then why do they call it cheese?”

“It’s English, it never makes any sense,” she said. She rested her head on one hand and looked away towards the window. 

Ranma glanced over at her reflection and she was definitely smiling. 

The waiter returned and placed their orders in front of them. Ranma picked up his fork and began to slice the side of it down through his cake then paused. 

“Hey, Akane?” 

“Ah, I know, I know,” she said. She took his plate and slid it towards her, and pushed her bowl of ice cream over to his side. “Better?”

“You didn’t have to--”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I prefer cheesecake anyway.” 

“Mm.” He looked down and poked at his bowl with a spoon. That wasn’t what he was going to say. It made him happy nonetheless. He looked back up at her. “Say, Akane--”

“Mmph?” She had a bite of cheesecake in her mouth. 

No. No, this isn’t right. Not here. He had a better idea. 

“Hey, Akane, when we get home, do you wanna have a sparring match?”

She blinked, swallowed her cheesecake, and nodded. “Sure!”

* * *

He waited in the dojo while Akane changed clothes. He took off his outer shirt and threw it in the corner. It was really starting to get hot outside lately, and the dojo, being such an old building, had inconsistent AC at best. Just his tank top and pants would be more than enough. 

He started stretching, first his arms, then his legs, deep breaths, in and out. When was the last time he had sparred with Akane? It had been ages. Definitely not since they came back from China. And before that she had been practicing very infrequently, her only exercise being her daily jog, or when she would get angry and pummel him or the nearest pile of cinderblocks. No, they hadn’t had a proper spar in . . . nearly a year? 

“Ranma?”

There Akane was, in the door of the dojo. The t-shirt she was wearing rolled up partway at the sleeves, tucked into her sweatpants that cuffed at the ankle. Her bare feet were already dirty from the walk from the house to the dojo. 

He grinned. She looked beautiful. “Akane! Are you ready?”

“Let me warm up a little first?”

“Sure.”

She walked to the center of the dojo and started stretching. He resumed stretching as well so as not to feel too awkward, but he kept casting sideways glances at her. There was something different, something unfamiliar. 

She stood up out of a deep lunge and exhaled. “Okay. Ready.”

They took their places and assumed ready stances. His was typical, casual, loose and unassuming as always. But hers was--he frowned. Akane always opened the same. Weight on her back right foot. Arms hip level. Head too high. 

This was different now. Her weight was on her left foot. One arm up near her shoulder, her hand not in a fist, but flat to the side. Her other arm pulled close to her chest. Her entire body was pulled inward and tight. 

Huh. That’s new. 

She moved first, fast. Faster than he had ever seen her, with a sharp left hook he barely had time to dodge. Akane’s momentum typically carried her forward, but even though she was moving so quickly, she was able to stop on the ball of one foot and instantly pivot as she crouched down low, aiming to grapple Ranma. 

He wasn’t expecting it and as he moved to jump over her, his feet grazed the top of her head. She neatly rolled forward out of the missed grapple and slid across the floor while turning to face him. 

“Stop dodging!” she yelled, and jumped up in the air. As she came down, toes pointed in a V, one arm lifted up high aiming a punch straight at his head, he realized what was happening. 

Shampoo. This was a form taken from Shampoo. 

But the opening hadn’t been. Neither had the grapple. Ah, no the grapple had been Ryoga--that low center of gravity, the easy recovery. And the opening move? He nearly laughed out loud. It was his. When he was a girl, that was. That’s exactly how he opened. 

All of this hit him in an instant. Now that he knew what he was dealing with, he again dodged the punch, and when Akane hit the ground, he recognized her landing pose as Ukyo’s. As she continued her flurry of attacks, he could see all of her influences. Mousse, in the flurry of punches, Kodachi, in the agile flexibility. She had taken inspiration from all of them, and incorporated it into her own style. Once, she had been all raw power, no speed, broad forms. And now, the power was still there, but she was tight. Fast. Controlled. 

It was honestly incredible. Ranma was watching a martial artist in her prime. 

“I said stop dodging!” She threw a punch at a high angle, like a panda would, and he ducked underneath it. 

“Okay,” he said, making a half-hearted kick in her direction. She easily backflipped out of the way, but when she flipped, she used one hand to propel herself off the ground. And not just one hand, but just her thumb and forefinger. 

_She’s even copying Tofu-sensei. Wow._

“Ranma! You have to really try!”

Part of him wanted to, he really did, but watching her move was too breathtaking. He realized now what he had been missing before. She looked different--her arms had more muscle, her torso was thicker. But it was solid. He doubted that, other than her breasts, there was an ounce of extra fat on her. Was she eating? Worry was starting to settle in. What had she been doing in here? 

She launched a high kick right at his head that he didn’t have time to dodge, so he instead caught her leg and then held her upside down by her ankle. 

“R-Ranma!” she yelled as her face started to turn red.

“Well you said stop dodging.”

“This is not what I meant!”

She was clearly flustered. She couldn’t even touch the ground since he was holding her so high. And he knew she had gotten more self conscious about her height since he had shot up three inches in the past year and she had stalled out at five two. 

“Hmm, what should I do with you now?” he teased.

Steaming, she swung herself forward and grabbed a hold of his calf with both arms, and then bit down. Hard. 

“Yeeowch!” Ranma instantly dropped her and she spun in midair to land on her feet. Smirking, she backed away a short distance and circled him. 

“You bit me!” He cried in astonishment, clutching his shin. “No fair!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said sarcastically. “Is this not the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts?”

Shocked, he slowly rose to his feet. He brought his arms up defensively. “All right. Anything goes.”

She was the first to move again, coming in fast, but heavy-footed. He recognized this as Kuno’s opening footwork in any kendo match. And he had never told Akane, because she would have killed him, but she and Kuno tended to have the same weakness.

An opening in their left shoulder. 

As she closed in, he stuck his arm straight out, in between her oncoming fists, to strike with the tip of his fingers directly in the joint where her arm attached to her shoulder. It stopped her in her tracks and caused her to stumble backwards, and he smoothly caught her around the waist with one arm so they were chest to chest. With his other hand, he took hold of the wrist of her raised arm.

They stood frozen in the middle of the dojo like that for a long moment. Akane stared at him, bewildered. His heart was overflowing. 

How had he never realized before how much martial arts was like dancing?

“Akane,” he said, smiling wide. “I love you.”

Easy as that.

Her eyes grew wide. What she did next took his breath away.

Literally, because she kneed him in the stomach.

He released his hold and bent over in pain. She had got him exactly in the same spot Mousse had bruised his ribs and it hurt like hell. 

“HOW DARE YOU!” 

“What the--”

She punched him in the face, and this time he fell to the ground. 

“Saying something like that, just to---” She shook her head. “Just to win a fight?”

“I didn’t--”

She kicked him in the side and he curled up into a ball. 

“I’ll never forgive you for this!” She shouted and marched to the door. 

“A--ka--ne--” He couldn’t get the words out, just clutched his abdomen in pain. 

She turned back and gave him a sharp glare. “I hate you!”

He said nothing, mostly because he couldn’t, as she slid the door shut with a slam behind her. 

For a long, long time he remained motionless, trying to figure out where he went wrong. 

_I hate you. I hate you. I hate you._

She had said that to him before, a million times. A million, billion times. This time, though, this time she meant it. Especially since he had done the most terrifying thing he had ever done in his life and told her the truth. The truth about how he felt!

And she hated him for it. 

All of the color faded from the world. 

“Ranma? Time for dinner.”

His mother, calling him. Had he been here that long? Slowly, he righted himself to a sitting position. His mother would be worried. He stood and picked up his shirt, putting it back on, but only mustered the energy to button it half way. His limbs felt so heavy. With every step to the door, his feet would land with the entirety of his body weight. Somehow, he found his way to the house and into the main room.

He took a seat in between Ryoga and his father, saying nothing. Everyone was talking to each other, but he couldn't make sense of the words. Nabiki was here. Kasumi. Mom. Pop. Mr. Tendo. Ryoga.

One seat was empty.

"Where's Akane?"

The sound of her name caused Ranma to look up. Nabiki had been the one to ask.

"She said she wasn't hungry and was very tired," replied Kasumi. "She's going to bed early."

"Aw, damn," moaned Nabiki. "We were going to go to a movie. Kasumi do you want to go?"

"I was going to Tofu's after dinner--"

"Fine, fine," Nabiki said. She looked across the table at Ranma and Ryoga. "Guess I'll settle for the gruesome twosome. You guys wanna see a movie?"

Ryoga scratched his chin. "Sure, I think--"

"No," said Ranma, his voice hollow. "Excuse me."

He stood and left the room, having not even touched his bowl. Everyone remaining turned and stared at Ryoga.

"All right, I'll go after him," Ryoga said, eyebrow twitching. He left the room as well. Walking around the house, he kept one hand on the wall at all times to prevent getting lost.

Ranma was outside, on the rear roof, knees hugged to his chest, head buried in his hands. Ryoga hopped up and took a seat next to him. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he said, "So, Ranma. What's up?"

Ranma didn't look at him as he replied, "You were right the first time, Ryoga. I've lost her forever."

"What are you talking about? What happened?"

"I told her how I felt, and she--" Ranma lifted his head, staring into the distance. With his hands, he made grasping motions at the empty air. "She said she hated me."

"Well, to be fair, she says that all the time."

"Not like this. This time it was different. Real." Ranma sighed. "I thought I had fixed everything. I don't know where I went wrong."

"I can tell you that."

This was Nabiki, at the edge of the roof, leaning on the top rung of a ladder.

"Nabiki?" Ranma asked. "You don't even know what we're talking about."

"Ranma, when are you going to realize I know everything you're doing at all times?" She smirked. "Not only that, but you and Ryoga left the storage shed covered in your notes and weird diagrams. It's not hard to figure out what happened."

Ryoga was stunned into speechlessness, but Ranma just rolled his eyes. "Oh, is that so?"

"That is so," asserted Nabiki. "Your problem now is that you told Akane you loved her and she rejected you, right?"

Ranma clutched his chest as if shot with an arrow. "How did--"

"We just established I know everything, didn't we? Now, do you want to know where you went wrong or not?"

Rama's shoulders slumped. "I do."

She held out her hand. "3000 yen, please."

Ranma looked at Ryoga. Ryoga rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet and placed the money in Nabiki's hand.

"Thank you!" she said in sing-song. 

Ranma frowned. "So what's the deal?"

"Feh," Nabiki chuckled. "It's pretty simple. You spent months running around like an idiot trying to solve your 'problems,' but how much time did you spend with Akane?"

"Well--" Ranma thought about it. "Well--"

"Exactly. She's been going through a tough time. I've tried to talk to her about it, but it's like pulling teeth. Did you ever think about what was going on inside of her head?"

"I mean--" Ranma swallowed the rest of his words. He shoved his hands in his lap and looked around wildly. "That's not really fair, is it?"

"Not fair?"

"She's been ignoring me this whole time! How was I supposed to know?"

"Just ask," replied Nabiki. She let out a deep sigh. "Believe it or not, Ranma, I want my little sister, and you, for some reason, to be happy."

"So what should I do now?"

"5000 yen."

Ranma looked at Ryoga.

"What, again?" 

Ranma gave him a pleading look. Ryoga sighed and paid Nabiki.

"Thanks times two," she chirped and shoved the money into her pocket. "Anyway, Ranma. For now, give her space. But then, just talk to her."

"That's it? Just talk?"

"Mmhmm. But wait until tomorrow at least."

Ranma squirmed. "Can't I, I dunno, wrestle a giant octopus and bring back its head or something?"

Nabiki sighed. "This is why you have problems with girls."

Ryoga snorted. "There's more reasons than that."

"Hey!"

Ryoga and Nabiki continued teasing him as the sun set over the city. Even though Ranma acted annoyed as they did so, he knew they were on his side. Deep in his chest, he felt a spark of hope.


	8. The Back of Her Hand

Akane stormed out of the dojo, more enraged than she had ever been. She wanted to scream, and throw things, and punch through a dozen cinderblocks. Instead, she ran to the bathroom, tore off her clothes, and jumped into the bath until she was completely underwater. 

She did scream, then, the air escaping her mouth and being replaced by water. She surfaced and let it all out, taking a deep breath. She couldn't let anyone else hear her scream or see her cry. What had all these past months been about if she did?

Sitting still in the bath proved impossible. It was only minutes before she got out, put on her robe, and went up to her room. There was still so much anger boiling in her stomach, but she tamped it down, not letting it take over her bones and shoot out the tips of her fingers. Everything had to stay inside no matter what.

Once she was inside of her room with the door closed behind her, her legs gave out and she collapsed. Sinking forward, she let her face hit the carpet and finally ran out of steam, remaining still. The anger had become something heavier, deeper, and it weighed too much.

This was always the worst part. Keeping it all inside was necessary, but exhausting. And now Ranma had gone and---

She closed her eyes. It was another trick. He was always trying to trick her. 

"Akane? Time for dinner."

Kasumi's voice from the other side of the door. Akane swallowed and kept her voice even as she replied.

"I'm not hungry, sis. I'm really tired from school today. I'm just gonna go to bed."

"Okay, Akane. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks, Kasumi."

Akane waited, unmoving, until she heard the sounds of her sister's footsteps fade away. She crawled her way over to her bed and reached underneath, as far as her arm could stretch, until her fingers alighted upon the corner of a thin cardboard box. She pulled it out and slowly lifted herself into a sitting position.

Running her hands over the top of the box, she tried to hold back her tears.

Hadn't she tried to be happy? She had. 

She was happy for Kasumi, genuinely, when she and Tofu-sensei went on their first date. Akane had gladly helped her dress up, soothed her nervousness, fixed her big sister's hair. 

_ You look really nice, Akane _ .

And she had tried to be happy then, whispering drunkenly to Nabiki later that night about what Ranma had said, and how she thought they would never be okay again after what happened in China. 

What happened in China? Nabiki had asked.

Akane wanted to tell her. The words were there behind her teeth, anticipating being said. But Akane held them in and just tried not to cry until Nabiki slid over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Her sister changed the subject and started talking about her plans for university until Akane fell asleep.

And then nothing.

And then Happosai had died, and it really had been a celebration. The Akane she had been before might have felt grief, or guilt, but the Akane she was now knew they were better off without him and there was no point in pretending to be sad about it. And Ranma had felt the same.

And she had stolen his fishcake. And then they had touched hands in the moonlight. And then they had danced, awkward and comfortable at the same time. 

And then nothing.

And then nothing. 

And then nothing. 

And now.

She opened the box. There was Ranma's shirt. The one he had given her when she was lying dead in his arms. She had kept it and he had never asked for it back.

_ Wake up, Akane. There's something that I need to tell you.  _

She picked it up and buried her face in the silk. It smelled like a damp cave and a teenage boy that had been fighting through fire and ice for hours. She had never washed it and it stank and she still held it against her face.

_ Ranma, you love me, don't you? _

_ No, I didn't say that! _

Every night, she had a nightmare. They were always the same. Her whole body was on fire. She reached out to Ranma for help, and he turned away.

She let her robe fall on the floor. With the strength of habit, she put on the dirty, damaged shirt and fastened it up the front.

_ Akane, I love you. _

It was a lie. He had lied to her over and over again. Maybe this time was the result of some cursed object from somewhere or other, or maybe a witch, or maybe he had said it just to get her to lower her guard. No matter what, she would never forgive him. It was the last lie she would ever let him tell her. 

She crawled into bed wearing Ranma's shirt and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

It was cold when she woke up.

The sun hadn't come up yet, and the house was quiet and still. Her stomach growled, but she ignored her hunger as she sat up on the edge of her bed. Wincing at the memory of the day before, she removed the shirt and packed it away again. She picked out her jogging outfit, sweats and a hooded shirt. A pair of thick socks.

Lacing up her sneakers in the entryway. A few stretches at the gates. And go.

Morning dew covered the trees, the concrete, the sparse patches of city grass. The streets were quiet, the only sounds her own wet footsteps. 

She ran.

Down past the school, closed up for the weekend. Past the Nekohanten, windows dark. Past Ucchan's and the market and along the length of the canal. She reached the highway overpass and stopped, looking up.

The sun was rising. Birds were waking up. 

Ranma was standing in front of her, singing in English, looking handsome even in his baggy suit, his breath smelling of the sweet tasting liquor they had been sharing. 

No. She shook her head. That was a memory best put away, buried deep down in some cave in China. 

She turned and ran home. The sun was rising quickly now and the city was waking up. Engines starting and bicycle bells ringing. The hum of air conditioning systems clicking on. She ran, trying to concentrate on those sounds, counting her footsteps. She had to go home, she was hungry, and she couldn't avoid Ranma forever.

Wouldn't it be great if she could?

Rounding a corner two blocks from home, she nearly stumbled over an old man bent over on the sidewalk.

"Oh, excuse me! Are you okay?"

He looked up. His eyes were set deeply in decades of wrinkles, his beard white and long but thin. He reached out a frail spindly hand and grabbed Akane's wrist.

"Young lady, please," he said in a hoarse whisper. "Where is the Tendo dojo?"

"I'm from the Tendo dojo," she replied warily.

Sadness overtook his face. "Then I'm sorry to have to do this."

He moved quickly, and she felt a flash of pain and yanked her hand away. 

"What the--"

She looked at the back of her right hand. An X had been carved across it in thin cuts. And it seemed discolored, bruising quicker and darker than she thought possible.

She raised her left fist to strike the man, but he hid whatever he had cut her with in his tattered brown robes and fell to his knees in a deep bow.

"I'm sorry! Please don't hit me! I need your help!"

"Funny way to ask for it," she snarled, not lowering her fist.

"Please! Take me back to the dojo and I'll explain everything!" His forehead was so low it touched the ground.

Akane relented. "Fine, but watch it!"

* * *

Everyone was awake now, gathered around the table for breakfast. Kasumi tended to Akane's wound as the old man, whose name was Hisao, began his story.

"I must apologize for what I have brought upon your family," he said, head low. "But I heard that the Tendo dojo was home to the strongest warriors in Japan, and I did not know where else to ask for help."

"So that meant you had to go cutting up Akane?" Ranma fumed.

"Lay off, Ranma, I'm fine. It's just a scratch."

"It's not just a scratch, miss," said Hisao. "I'm afraid it's worse. Those bandages will cover it up, but it won't heal. It will simply grow and grow until it reaches your heart and by then it will be too late."

Ranma leaped across the table, almost getting his hands around the old man's neck before Ryoga grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back.

"Ranma, stop!"

"It can be stopped!" pleaded Hisao.

"How?" Ranma demanded, Ryoga still maintaining a tight grip around his torso.

"The terms of the pact must be fulfilled. If it is fulfilled, the wound will heal and she will remain unharmed."

"I didn't make any pact," said Akane. 

"I know, and again, I apologize," Hisao said. "But I made the pact for you, for my village."

"Your village?"

"I live in a town in the mountains called Chihayama. A thousand years ago, a great warlord named Zentoshi built himself a fortress deep in the mountain. There, he met a demon and they made a deal. The village and the mountain became cursed, as the demon engaged in rituals of blood magic. The demon granted Zentoshi immortality, but Zentoshi grew hungry with power and betrayed the demon and broke their deal. The demon took pity on the people of the village that Zentoshi terrorized, even falling in love with an elderman's daughter. The demon taught the people of my village the art of blood magic, and together the town sealed Zentoshi deep in his mountain fortress under the earth, to be guarded by the descendants of the demon and his wife, of which I am one of the last."

He paused and looked around the room. Everyone bore a different expression, but the young man who had lunged at him earlier terrified him the most.

"So what does that have to do with me?" asked Akane.

"Unfortunately, as it has been a thousand years, our town has changed. Our main industries are mining and tourism. And a few weeks ago, a group of miners went too far into the mountain and accidentally broke the seal to the fortress with dynamite."

"So this Zentoshi guy is free now?" asked Ranma.

"Not quite." Hisao shook his head. "The physical barrier may be destroyed, but the magical one is still largely intact. However, he is able to send out his minions, soldiers of stone, and armies of the undead, to search the village for resources every night, particularly blood. Six people have already been killed."

"This is too dangerous," said Nodoka. "You can't possibly expect a teenager to--"

"I don't have many options," said Hisao. "The breaking of the mountain seal activated a magic seal around the village. People may enter, but none may leave. I used the last of my family's magic reserves to escape to find help."

"How terrible," said Kasumi.

"One bright side is this is a time of the year we have many tourists," said Hisao.

"Ah! And now they can't leave but you can still charge them for room and board!" cried Nabiki in excitement. "Smart!"

"That's right, that's right!" Hisao said, grinning.

"Hey," Akane said, punching him on the back of the head. "This is serious!"

"Right, right, I'm sorry. But, miss, to satisfy the terms of the pact, Zentoshi must be killed."

"I thought you said he was immortal," said Akane.

"Immortal in that he does not age, and requires no food or drink," said Hisao. "But he is susceptible to injury. Wound him severely enough, and he will die like any other man."

"They coulda done that a thousand years ago," said Ranma, rolling his eyes. 

"Zentoshi is not so easily defeated. Not only does he have his armies, but his personal combat skills are unparalleled."

"Pfft," Ranma shrugged and put his hands behind his head. "I've beat immortal jerks before, I can kill this one too."

"Ranma," said Akane in a warning tone. "I'm the one with the pact. This is my fight."

"Are you crazy Akane? You can't kill some demon warlord!"

She held up her marked right hand. "I have to!"

"Well, actually anybody can," muttered Hisao. "As long as Zentoshi is killed, it doesn't matter by who, the pact is considered fulfilled."

"See?" Ranma said smugly.

"It doesn't matter!" Akane slammed her hands flat on the table. "This is my duty, and I'm going!"

"Don't be stupid!" Ranma shouted. "When he said the Tendo dojo had the greatest warriors in Japan--"

"Oh no Ranma don't--" Ryoga whispered wincing.

"He sure wasn't talking about you, Akane!"

Akane felt the anger start again. This time, it began in the soles of her feet propelling itself upward to her heart. She stopped its path and pushed it back down into her stomach.

"Is that so?" she replied coolly. 

The rest of the family had already lifted their plates and bowls off the table in anticipation of her lifting up the table and throwing it. They were frozen like that, food in hand, left blinking in confusion.

Except for Ranma, who didn't back down.

"Yeah," he said. "That's so."

"Well, do what you want then, but I'm going," said Akane, looking away from him. "Old man, how long do I have to fulfill this pact?"

"I'd say--" Hisao scratched his head. "Three days."

Akane blinked and tightened her throat, not letting her panic show. "All right. We better get moving. Where is Chihayama?"

"Oh, I'm not going back there!" Hisao shook his head. "I'm in Tokyo for the first time in fifty years! I'd thought I would get a hotel downtown and enjoy myself."

"You think this is a vacation?!" Ranma struggled against Ryoga's grasp once more.

"Don't worry, don't worry!" said Hisao. "I'll draw you a map."

* * *

Akane changed clothes and packed as quickly as possible. It was hard to know what to bring. Would she even need a change of clothes? Shoes? Her sneakers should be fine, right? She threw in a pair of underwear and a handful of pencils. None of this mattered anyway. She would only be gone three days. Hopefully less.

She rubbed the back of her bandaged hand. Hopefully not more.

Downstairs, Ranma and Ryoga were waiting for her, each with packs of their own. 

Akane frowned. "Both of you are coming?"

"Of course, you can't handle this by yourself, " Ranma retorted.

Ryoga tried to remain diplomatic. "This situation does seem especially dangerous, Akane-san."

"Whatever," Akane sighed. She put on her shoes and walked out of the door without pausing. 

Nodoka and Kasumi were outside waiting for them. Kasumi placed her hands over Akane's and looked at her worriedly. "Akane, please be safe. This is all so scary. Don't rush into things."

Akane tried to smile to reassure her sister. "Don't worry, Kasumi, I'll be all right. I promise."

Kasumi nodded and gave her hands a squeeze.

Nodoka was holding Ranma in a tight hug and sobbing. "Please, please be careful! I can't lose my son!"

"I'll be fine, Mom!" Ranma wriggled out of her grasp. "I always am."

Nodoka turned to Akane, tears still streaming down her face. Akane was shocked when Nodoka also pulled her into a hug, burying Akane's face in her shoulder.

"And Akane, please," Nodoka whispered. "I can't lose you either."

"Mm," Akane grunted in confusion. Nodoka smelled a little like Ranma. She raised her arms, as if to return the embrace, but then gently pushed Nodoka away. "I'll be fine, Auntie. Really."

“Yes, yes,” Nodoka said, sniffling and wiping her tears with her kimono sleeve. She took a step back and looked at the teenagers in front of her. “The three of you are so strong, I know. But no one is invincible. Please take care of each other.”

The three teens felt awkward but loved. Akane turned away, staring up at the sky. It was nearly noon and there wasn’t a single cloud in sight. She felt cold down to the marrow of her bones. 

“Let’s go.”

The trio left through the gates and Akane pulled out the map Hisao had given them. She studied it for a few moments. “This shouldn’t be hard to find. We can just head north through here.”

“It would be better if we went this way,” Ranma said, pointing to a side road on the map. “It would cut down on the hiking time.”

“Are you nuts? That’s all forest. It will take twice as long to get through.”

“It’s a forest, not an obstacle course. Should be fine.”

“We do not have the time to fight through who knows what, plus deal with wild animals--”

“Oh, come on, it’s not like a horde of rabid bears is just going to jump out of the trees and attack us--”

“Guys?” said Ryoga, interrupting them. He gestured backwards with his thumb at the sign pointing towards the station. “What if we just take the train?”


	9. Maybe I Should Have

“See?” said Ryoga. “We don’t always need to hike everywhere.”

Akane and Ranma sat on either side of Ryoga, both with their arms crossed. The train car was mostly empty other than the three of them, and the few other passengers were sitting a fair distance away. No one was talking, letting the _clackity-clack_ of the train tracks be their only accompaniment.

Ryoga leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He interlaced his fingers, flexing the bones in his hands first in one direction, then another. His rucksack sat on the floor between his feet and he stared at it for several minutes before speaking.

"You know, maybe we should come up with some sort of plan--"

"I never want to hear the word 'plan' ever again," Ranma said, spitting out the words.

"But this Zentoshi guy seems like a serious threat--"

"I can handle it," declared Ranma. "I can handle anything."

"Boy your ego never slips even for a second, does it Ranma?" Akane said, speaking for the first time since the train started moving. Her arms remained crossed and she didn't look over at either boy. "The great, unstoppable, Ranma Saotome."

"What's wrong with that?" he asked.

"And yet, still too stupid to understand sarcasm."

"Trust me, Akane, I'm not the one being stupid."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're an idiot for getting yourself into this situation!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just supposed to somehow know that an old man on the street who needed help was going to trap me into an irrevocable blood pact?!"

"Yes, honestly! Stuff like that happens to us all the time!"

"Because of you! You're the source of all the trouble!"

"I didn't cause this!"

"Didn't you? After all, Ranma, as you said, when he was looking for the greatest warrior in Japan, he didn't mean me."

The two of them fell into an angry silence. Between them, Ryoga stretched his neck, looking up at the roof of the train, and grimaced. 

Another long period of quiet passed. 

"So," Ryoga said after counting 1462 _clackity-clack_ s. "Maybe we should have a--strategy--for when we get there."

"Does it matter?" asked Akane. "No matter what we come up with, Ranma will just rush in and do whatever he wants anyway."

"Why are you being like this, Akane?" snapped Ranma.

"Like what?!"

"I thought we were getting along!"

"Huh, when was this?"

"You know, after--"

"After?"

"After Happosai's funeral--"

"Oh, you mean when you ignored me for two months?"

"Ignored YOU?!"

"Yes! You and Ryoga, always running off, whispering to each other, hiding away. You two were inseparable!"

"Well, I just didn't want him to get lost--"

"Which is why he carried you on his back in the rain? Or why I found the two of you in the bathroom with his hands all over you?"

"He was just trying to--" Ranma froze, suddenly realizing what she was implying. "Akane, you don't--you don't think--you don't think there's something going on between me and Ryoga, do you?"

"Wait, what?" Ryoga asked softly.

"Well, isn't there?"

"NO!" Both boys shouted. Ranma leapt to his feet, waving his hands wildly in the air.

"Are you crazy?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Akane-san, you have it all wrong--"

"Completely wrong!"

"Ranma and I--we're just friends!"

"Just friends!" Ranma agreed forcefully. He paused. "Wait, are we friends?"

Ryoga smiled. "Yeah, I'd say so."

Ranma returned the smile. "Aw."

"I'm happy for you both," said Akane, rolling her eyes.

Ranma turned back to her. “So this is what your problem is?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You rejected me because you thought I was into Ryoga?”

“Rejected you? I didn’t reject you!”

“But I mean, when I--” Ranma sputtered. He turned to Ryoga. “Have I lost my mind?”

Ryoga shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe.”

“If you’re talking about what happened in the dojo,” Akane cut in. “I just didn’t fall for your trick.”

“You thought it was a trick?”

“Wasn’t it?”

“You really think that I would do something like that?”

“You’ve done things like that before. You use girls to prop up your ego all the time.”

“Okay--well--yes, maybe, in the past, but after everything I went through at Jusendo--”

“Everything _you_ went through?” Akane was on her feet now. The anger was coming out. She felt it, again, starting low, rising through her chest. She couldn’t stop it. Not this time. Through her throat. Her mouth. “I’m the one that almost died! I’m the one who’s entire body was on fire! Do you have any idea--when I was small, when I was powerless, every cell of my body felt like it was burning!”

Ranma shut up. He actually closed his mouth completely. 

Akane clutched her head, fingers pulling at her hair. She hadn’t wanted all of this to come out. She hadn’t wanted to ever say any of it. And it was still coming. “And I went and threw myself into fire, again and again. And for what? For you? What a mistake! You didn’t even want to marry me!”

Ranma knit his brow and set his jaw. He stared down at Akane, who was still grabbing at her own head, and looking at the floor, panting. He clenched one of his fists and brought it up towards his chest, biting down on his tongue. He pointed one finger at her. “No. No way. You don’t get to do that.”

She looked up at him, her hands weakening their grasp on her head. “What?”

“Akane, you didn’t want to marry me.”

“What?” she repeated.

“It wasn’t your idea. You didn’t wake up the day after we got home from China and think to yourself, ‘I want to marry Ranma today,’ did you?”

Akane said nothing.

“Exactly. Your old man came to you saying he would give me the Nannichuan water, and you decided to marry me out of pity. Or maybe guilt.”

“Guilt?”

“All the extra trouble I had to go through saving you ruined my chances of getting Nannichuan water while we were in China, didn’t it?”

“I cannot believe what a braindead loser you are!”

“You’re one to talk! You can’t go a single day without jumping to an idiotic conclusion because you refuse to listen to anybody, ever, about anything!”

“Well I’m sorry I cause you so much trouble!”

“I’m sorry you cause so much trouble too!”

“Maybe you should have just let me die over there!”

“Maybe I should have!”

They were inches apart, screaming in each other’s face. But this last declaration caused both of them to pause and stare at each other wide-eyed, breathing heavily. 

“Guys--” Ryoga put up his hands between them. He had remained stationary the entire time, only looking back and forth between his two friends as they fought the worst fight they had ever had. Now he stood, stepping in the middle, forcing Ranma and Akane to back up in either direction. “You two need to calm down.”

The other passengers on the train had moved to the far end of the car, but their attention was fixated on the small group of teenagers. Ryoga glared at the busybodies and they diverted their attention away, into newspapers or out of the window. 

“Listen,” Ryoga cleared his throat. “We’ve all said some things we don’t mean--”

“I meant it,” said Akane.

“So did I,” said Ranma.

“Okay, so you’re in agreement. That’s good, that’s progress. Now how about we--”

A chiming sound and a friendly prerecorded voice announced their stop. They tilted slightly as the train came to a halt. The doors hissed open, and the other passengers quickly exited. Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane picked up their packs and left as well, without saying another word until they were on the platform.

“Well, we’ve still got an hour or so’s hike to go, right Akane?” Ryoga asked.

She shrugged noncommittally. “I guess.” 

“All right, let’s go!” Ryoga replied with artificial energy and headed off of the train platform.

“Ryoga?” Akane called.

“Yes?”

“Wrong direction.”

* * *

The road to Chihayama was well traveled, so the physical act of hiking itself was smooth. Ryoga tried to make conversation, but Akane stopped responding completely after the first fifteen minutes and Ranma never responded to begin with. They traveled the rest of the way in uneasy silence.

Akane was exhausted. After everything had spilled out of her, there was nothing left. She had been straining for so long to hold it in, hold it back. For months, any spare amount of energy she possessed had gone into keeping herself calm and building a wall around her heart. Now that wall had exploded, she had shared her deepest secret, that she had been burning in Jusendo, her body screaming in pain, and how she wished she had died there instead.

And Ranma had agreed with her.

She rubbed the back of her bandaged hand, pressing her fingertips into the texture of the woven fabric. Was it worth rebuilding the wall around a broken heart? Was her heart even there anymore? Her chest felt so hollow. Maybe it was empty. 

They followed the road as it wound deep into the mountains. It was warm, but not hot, no rain, no breeze. No other travelers. Eventually they reached the entrance of Chihayama.

“It looks . . . ordinary,” said Ranma.

It did. A wooden welcome sign on the side of the road greeted them. Several hundred yards away was a wide, squat building that was a combination of a welcome center and medical clinic. The road curved on down through the valley, leading to various homes and shops in the distance. 

“Well, once we go in, we can’t come out,” said Ryoga. “Not until we’re done. Are you ready?”

He looked over at Akane. She nodded. He looked over at Ranma. He nodded.

“Let’s go.”

The three of them stepped forward, past the welcome sign, and instantly noticed the change.

The sky was red. 

It was as if a hazy but transparent dome had settled over the village, arching high above the mountains and curving down behind them. Akane turned to look at the semi-transparent red wall that blocked the way they had come. She held up her hand and reached out, gently laying her palm against it. 

“Solid,” she said. “And smooth like glass.”

“That’s one way to keep us in,” sighed Ryoga. 

“You three!” 

They turned back around. A woman was standing in front of the squat building. She was wearing a long white lab coat with a stethoscope around her neck. Her long black hair was pulled into a low ponytail and her eyes were framed by thin, rectangular glasses. 

“Who are you? You shouldn’t have come here.”

“Our help was requested,” said Ryoga. “A man named Hisao--”

“What? Are you three from the Tendo dojo?”

They all nodded in reply.

“But you’re just children,” the woman said, pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers. “I told Grandfather this was a bad idea.”

“Grandfather?” asked Akane in surprise.

The woman sighed. “Come, I’ll get you something to eat and let you rest.”

* * *

The front room of the welcome center doubled as a waiting area for the clinic, but no one else was there. The doctor who greeted them told them her name was Toshiko Hoga. She served them tea and sandwiches from the clinic’s kitchen. It turned out that he clinic was actually a well-resourced but small hospital that not only served Chihayama, but several of the other neighboring rural towns.

“Of course,” Toshiko said as she took a seat in one of the chairs in the waiting room. “We aren’t able to help them now.”

Akane tore into the sandwiches with an unprecedented hunger. She knew they couldn’t possibly fill the emptiness sitting in the pit of her stomach, but she was compelled to try all the same. 

Ryoga leaned forward. “You were saying that Hisao is your grandfather?”

“That’s right,” Toshiko said and took a sip of tea. “Our family is one of the last in the village to be able to use the demon’s old magic. I prefer using actual medicine, myself. By the way, Akane-san, let me see your hand.”

Akane paused, her mouth full of food. She swallowed with a big gulp. “Okay.”

She held out her arm and watched as Toshiko slowly unwrapped the bandages. The X on her hand had turned a dark purple, and spidery, dark veins extended out and upward towards her forearm. Toshiko frowned. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen.” 

Toshiko gave her a sad smile. “I told my grandfather not to do this. You’re so young. It’s unfair to burden you with such a thing.” 

She pulled a roll of bandages out of her coat pocket and began re-wrapping Akane’s hand. 

“It’s all right,” said Akane. “It’s my duty to help out your town. I’ll do whatever I can. I will defeat Zentoshi.”

Toshiko fastened the end of the bandage into place. “Youthful optimism is always endearing. For what it’s worth, I hope you can.”

Ranma spoke for the first time in a long while. He was clenching the arms of his chair so hard his nails were gouging into the wood. In a fiery voice, he asserted, “We will.”

Toshiko leaned back in her seat. “What was your name again?”

“Ranma Saotome.”

“Saotome-kun, then. What makes you so confident?”

Ranma stared her down. “I’ve never lost a fight before.”

“That’s not true,” said Ryoga. “You’ve lost a lot of fights.”

“But then I go back,” said Ranma, momentarily flustered. “And then I win. In the end, I always do.” 

Toshiko looked over the three of them. Akane seemed distant. Ranma was vibrating with anger. The only one who showed any hint of fear was Ryoga, and it seemed to be more about the potential words of his companions than about the threat that was ahead. 

"I see," she said at last. "Do you understand what you are facing?"

"Some crusty old warlord, some rock guys, zombies? Not a big deal," said Ranma with a flippant shrug.

"Not zombies," said Toshiko. "I know my grandfather refers to them as undead, but they are creatures from a spirit realm. Not quite full demons themselves. But they are the horrid things that come out at night and terrorize the town."

"Like vampires?" asked Akane.

"I call them akuma-ko. They don't feed on blood, but they do collect it. Luckily Zentoshi only seems to be able to send no more than two or three at a time out of the mountain."

"What about the stone soldiers Hisao mentioned?" asked Ryoga.

"They have not been seen outside of the mountain so far. Although they are extremely tough, they are mindless, with no souls or directions of their own."

They sat quietly for a little while longer, drinking their tea. 

"Well, let's get this over with," said Akane when her cup was empty. "How do we get to the mine entrance?"

Toshiko gave another sad smile. "Unfortunately, we have a magical barrier blocking the way, in an attempt to keep the akuma-ko from escaping. We won't be able to lower it until dawn tomorrow. I'm sorry, Akane-san. I know that cuts into the time you have left."

"It's all right," said Akane, but she looked away, studying the floor tiles. 

"It's not all right!" Ranma yelled. The arm of his chair snapped in his grip. He tossed the broken piece of wood to the side in disgust. "We have three lousy days as it is to stop this guy. And now you're telling me we can't even get in there until tomorrow?"

"Saotome-kun, I understand--and agree with-- your frustration. But there is no way to change the situation."

Ranma rose to his feet, glaring down at Toshiko. "Let's get it straight, doc. If anything happens to my fiancee, I'll burn this rotten town to the ground myself."

Toshiko blinked. While she had no doubt Ranma would follow through with his threat, he was still clearly speaking from the perspective of an overconfident teenager. 

"Fiancee?" she asked.

"It was an arranged engagement," said Akane. "Our fathers decided. We have no intention of following through."

This was the first time Toshiko noticed Ranma display any sort of weakness, when he winced at Akane's statement. But he recovered quickly, displaying his mask of unwavering anger in an instant.

"I see," said Toshiko slowly. "Well then it's good I have enough rooms open for you to sleep separately."

* * *

Akane barely slept. Alone in the small spare hospital room, with an antiseptic smell and little noise. At home, at night, there were always the sounds of the city at night, or crickets, or cicadas in the summer. Even though her bed was up against a window, she heard almost nothing from outside. It was as if the entire town was frozen.

And she was alone.

Ranma and Ryoga were sharing a room. Were they talking about the day’s events? About her? The thought made her flesh itch. She missed her sisters. She missed her dad. The bed was stiff. She hadn’t even packed anything to sleep in. Just an extra pair of socks. 

Eventually, time passed. She must have slept. But it didn’t feel like it. She finally became sick of lying in bed and sat up, throwing off her covers. She padded barefoot out into the hallway, not sure what she was looking for. 

“Akane-san?” Toshiko was standing there as she rounded the corner, dressed in sweats and sleepily rubbing her eyes. She lowered her glasses from the top of her head and focused on Akane. “Awake already?”

“Mmm,” Akane replied. “It was hard for me to sleep.”

“I’d imagine so. Come, I’ll make you some tea.”

Toshiko led Akane to her office, where she had an electric kettle and a surprisingly robust tea preparation area set up on half of her desk. Akane took a seat as Toshiko began to heat the water and prepare the tea leaves. 

“It’s only 4 A.M.,” said Toshiko. “The sun should be up in about an hour. Are you ready?”

“I don’t know,” said Akane honestly.

“Fair enough. And we have to do something about that, don’t we?” Toshiko nodded at Akane’s right arm. The black spidery veins had creeped up well past where the bandages ended, nearly reaching her elbow. 

“Oh,” said Akane, instinctively bringing it close to her and trying to cover it with her other arm. “Yeah.”

They drank their tea quietly before Toshiko began rewrapping Akane’s arm.

“The good news is the wound itself is not infected,” said Toshiko, gently inspecting the cut. “The bad news is that I think Grandfather used a very old implement, and it was faulty. This is progressing quicker than it should."

“Well, I’ll just have to defeat Zentoshi as fast as possible then,” said Akane, but her voice was flat. 

“Yes, I suppose so,” Toshiko agreed, her voice full of grief. She started to fasten the bandage halfway up Akane’s forearm. “Well, here we go.”

“Actually, Toshiko-sensei--”

“Yes?”

“Could you--wrap it a little higher?”

“Ah, of course. Not wanting your fiance to see?”

“It’s not about him,” muttered Akane, although it was.

“I can’t blame you. His threat to burn down the town seemed very serious.” Toshiko smiled and wrapped the bandages to just above the bend in Akane’s elbow. “There, that should be all right for a while.”

Akane looked down at her hand and flexed her fingers, her knuckles making a soft _pop_. “I hope so.”


	10. Dark and Deep

Ryoga and Ranma woke up a short time later, and they quickly ate breakfast with Akane in the clinic’s small cafeteria. Toshiko told them it wouldn’t take too long to get up to the mine shaft entrance on the side of the mountain, but they still needed to save every second they could. 

After breakfast, Toshiko led them through the town to the mountain path. The sky was still a hazy red. There was no one out and about on the streets, the businesses and restaurants all closed, the market square empty. Occasionally someone would peek out of their window as they passed by, but none of the curious faces looked friendly, only fearful. 

As they were walking, Ranma looked over at Akane. “Does it hurt?”

This is the first thing he had said to her since they had left the train the day before. “What?”

“Your arm.”

“No.” A lie. 

It burned. She could feel the fiery path of the pact’s curse stretching its way up her arm in tiny detail. It burned, like her entire body had burned when it was small and devoid of water. But it wasn’t worth telling that to Ranma. 

The sun was fully in the sky by the time they reached the foot of the mountain. Although it looked orange and fiery behind the magical barrier that surrounded the village, it was still clearly much lighter outside than it had been at night. 

There was an old man sitting in a folding chair at the mine entrance. He wore robes similar to Hisao’s and was fanning himself with a paper fan. As they approached, he held up a hand in greeting. 

“Ah! Toshiko-sensei! Who have you brought here?”

“These are the warriors that grandfather found in Tokyo,” she replied.

“Warriors?” the old man asked. “They’re just children.”

Ryoga gave an awkward wave. Ranma crossed his arms defiantly. Akane rolled her eyes. 

“Yes,” agreed Toshiko. “But they are our biggest hope currently. Did the barrier work last night?”

“Oh my, yes,” the old man replied. “No sign of an akuma-ko. But the magic fueling it won’t last for much longer. It’s not like the old days.”

“Well, I need you to lower the barrier now so these guys can get started.”

“Very well.” He waved a hand back at the entrance to the mine, framed by a stone arch. With his gesture, a shimmery veil seemed to drop from the opening. 

Toshiko turned back to the teenagers. “The way is open. I myself have not been in there, but there are many different tunnels. The main one should lead to the entrance of the fortress, and I can’t be sure what awaits you after that. And I can’t offer you anything more than well wishes. Please, keep yourselves safe.”

“Don’t worry,” Ranma said. He was grinning now, exuding confidence. “We’ve got this.”

“Is it appropriate to be so cocky right now, Ranma?” Ryoga asked. 

“Sure,” Ranma thumbed his nose. “A fight’s a fight.”

“Nothing keeps you down for long, huh Ranma?” asked Akane with one eyebrow raised.

“That’s right,” he agreed. “After all, don’t forget, the three of us are the strongest people in Japan.”

“Very well,” Toshiko said, laughing. “I admire the confidence. Good luck.”

The trio of teenagers walked past her and into the mine. Right there in the entrance there were all the expected sights, Discarded tools, wooden beams bracing the walls, piles of loose dirt. But there were also trails of blood leading deeper down into the cavern. 

Akane shivered, but not from cold. She had never been a fan of spooky environments like this. She trailed behind Ranma and Ryoga as they walked deeper into the mine, following it downwards. 

_The three of us are the strongest people in Japan_.

_The three of us._

Ranma’s words echoed in her head. He had included her in his statement. Did he really believe she was that strong? Had he really noticed all the work she had been doing? It was clear she might never catch up to Ranma and Ryoga and their skills, but the fact that he considered her so close to him in ability genuinely surprised her. Deep, deep inside she even felt a little pleased. 

They continued on, eventually coming to a cliff that opened up above a larger cavern down below. There was a set of scaffolding they were able to climb down. There were tables and mining equipment scattered around, some of it tilted over or smashed. Yet there was no sign of any recent movement or life. There was another large opening at the back of the cavern leading down further into the earth.

“How deep do we have to go?” muttered Ranma.

Akane didn’t want to voice it, but she shared his concern. How long would it take them to get to the fortress? And then fight their way through whatever creatures Zentoshi had guarding it? She rubbed her bandaged arm with her free hand. The curse pulsed through her arm in a steady rhythm. 

They traveled further into the earth, trying to ignore the random spatters of blood or broken equipment they encountered in the tunnels. Finally, they rounded a corner and slid down a short incline.

The tunnel opened up into a gigantic cavern, many times the size of the operations room they had passed through earlier. An enormous gateway carved out of pure white stone overtook the far wall. Intricate designs consisting of demonic faces, waves, and various wild animals were set into the rock all around its sides. There had clearly been a giant stone barrier sealing it off that had once been solid, but now had a hole nearly ten feet tall blasted through it.

"Wow," said Ranma. "So this is it."

"It's huge," said Ryoga in awe. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Me neither," agreed Akane. The stonework was strangely beautiful, but also deeply threatening. 

They paused, unsure of their next move. 

"Well, we need to go in, don't we?" asked Ranma.

"Shouldn't we have some sort of plan?" asked Akane. She didn't notice Ryoga wince.

"No plans!" snarled Ranma. "We just go in there and pummel everything we find!"

He dashed forward, running straight through the stone opening.

"Ranma! Wait!" Ryoga followed after him. 

Akane hesitated. There were monsters behind that gate, real ones. How were they supposed to win with no preparation?

But they were ahead of her. She had no choice. Steeling her nerves, she ran after the boys, sincerely hoping for the best.

* * *

It was darker beyond the gate. Previously the tunnels had been lit by electric lamps and torches the miners had left behind. Now there were no more torches, but it wasn't completely dark. The walls of the tunnel themselves seemed to be glowing, casting everything in a neon blue light.

"Ah, I've heard of this,"Akane said, reaching out to touch a damp wall. "It's a kind of fungus that grows deep underground. It glows in the dark."

Ranma grunted. "It's enough to help me see, that's all I care about."

The walls and floors of these tunnels were different from the mineshaft. The mine was rough, utilitarian. But inside the stone fortress, the rock was deliberately carved and formed. And there was no longer only one path. Halls branched and turned, and there was no clear indication of where they should go.

"Keep your hand on the left wall," said Ranma, leading the group. 

"Got it," said Ryoga, reaching out and touching the right. 

Akane stretched forward and gently corrected him.

They proceeded farther. Akane tried to make a mental map of the place. Ranma was probably doing the same. Maybe Ryoga was too but, as she well knew, his would be useless. They passed through various rooms, some seemed to be lodging quarters, or storerooms. No signs of life.

Plenty of signs of death.

There were blood stains everywhere. Smeared on walls, tables, splattered on the ceiling. Akane tried to avoid looking. The sight made her sick.

Eventually they came across a closed set of stone double doors. They weren't nearly as tall as the entrance gate, perhaps only eight feet high. Without pausing, Ranma pushed them open.

The room was full of stone soldiers.

They stood motionless, identical, lined up in precise rows, each gripping a long naginata with a thick, hooked blade. They were only slightly taller than ordinary human size, but thick and imposing. They had no faces, only smooth blank voids at the front of their heads where faces should be. 

"Okay, no problem," said Ranma, slowly stepping further into the room. There was another stone door at the far end that he pointed to. "We just need to get over there. All we have to do is slide thr---YEEEP!"

He was interrupted when the nearest stone soldier brought the blade of its naginata straight down, hitting the floor with a clang and missing Ranma by inches. 

"All right, we're doing this the hard way," he muttered. He crouched down and then back flipped through the air to land on top of the stone soldier's head.

Akane and Ryoga took ready stances as the other nearby soldiers began to wake up. Ryoga slid under the legs of one as it lunged at him, jumping up behind it and sending a forceful punch into its back. The soldier fell forward and landed on its knees, which chipped as they hit the ground. It managed to recover and turn back to Ryoga.

Another soldier swung slowly at Akane with its naginata. She easily leaped over the blade and landed, balancing on the staff. She aimed a high kick at the soldier's head, throwing it off balance. It's grip on the naginata released and she flipped backwards, catching it in midair.

As the soldier she was fighting tilted backwards, she managed to jam the blade of the weapon in between the area where its torso met its hips. She shoved it in with all of her strength, and the soldier fell apart, crumbling as it hit the ground. 

That's good. They could come apart.

She looked over to the boys. Ranma had figured out a similar strategy, although he was using his own fists to strike at the stone joints.

Ryoga, however, was simply punching his way through the rock very inefficiently.

"Ryoga! You idiot!" Ranma yelled. "They're made of stone!"

"I know that!" Ryoga cried as he punched another one in its smooth face.

"Ryoga-kun!" Akane echoed, dodging multiple attacks. "They're! Made! Of! Stone!"

His eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Right!"

Ryoga raised his fist, pointing forward with a single finger, and struck the forehead of the nearest stone soldier. " _Bakusai tenketsu_!"

The soldier exploded into thousands of pieces. Ryoga, overly pleased with how well his technique worked, began employing it with ruthless determination. He leapt from soldier to soldier, gleefully calling out the name of his attack repeatedly.

" _Bakusai tenketsu! Bakusai tenketsu! Bakusai tenketsu_!"

He worked his way through the room easily, leaving only a few stragglers for Ranma and Akane to tussle with.

When only one soldier remained standing, Ryoga confidently slid across the floor on his side, propping his head up one of his hands, his elbow on the ground. He lifted his free hand and touched the soldier on the toe of its stone boot and said cheerily, " _Bakusai tenketsu_!"

It exploded, same as the others.

Ryoga hopped to his feet. "Well, that wasn't so tough."

Akane looked around the room. The floor was now covered in three solid inches of rubble. She wiped stone dust off her face and said, "Yeah. Guess not."

"I guess maybe I am one of the strongest people in Japan," Ryoga chuckled.

"You're definitely starting to get one of the biggest heads in Japan," said Ranma, giving him a light punch. "Come on, let's go."

The two boys moved to exit the far door. Akane followed slowly, clutching the naginata she had taken off the stone soldier. She half expected Ranma to make a sarcastic comment questioning if she knew how to use it. Instead, he looked back, noticed what she was holding, and nodded, before turning back to Ryoga and the door before them.

 _The three of us_.

He believes in my ability.

Somewhere, deep inside the darkness of her chest, her heart began to beat as if for the very first time. 


	11. I Hate This

The tunnels here were darker. Less fungus glowing on the wall. Their eyes adjusted to the new dim light well enough to see where they were going, but everything was still in heavy shadow.

"It stinks!" said Akane, holding her nose.

"It does," agreed Ranma, pulling his shirt collar up over the bottom half of his face. 

And there were sounds, when it had been quiet before. Distantly, running water. Closer, chattering and scraping. Closer still, tiny peaks of high pitched laughter coming in intermittent bursts. 

“What is that?” asked Ryoga. 

Akane gripped the handle of the naginata tightly. In the darkness ahead, she noticed a small shadow dash towards them. It stopped right in front of Ranma and she and Ryoga leaned in to look at it more closely.

A tiny dark creature with thin, long ears pointing upright stood on its hind legs. In doing so it was barely over one foot tall. Its face was fox like, with thin slitted eyes and a small nose. But it’s legs were not like a fox, however. They were wiry and muscular, ending in curved, sharp claws. It had a skinny, string like tail that ended in a point that it curled around its feet as it stared up at them.

“Is this--akuma-ko?” asked Akane. 

“Kinda small, ain’t it?” asked Ranma. 

“It’s almost kinda cute,” mused Ryoga. He crouched down and held his hand out to the akuma-ko as though it were a stray cat. “Hey, guy----eYYIIIIII!”

The akuma-ko had grinned, revealing a mouth full of rows of large, sharp, blood-stained teeth. It took a running leap at Ryoga who managed to dodge at the last second. As the tiny demon flew past his head, he managed to spin into a roundhouse kick, slamming it against the wall, where it disintegrated into a foul smelling black ooze. 

“Gross!” said Ryoga. 

“Well what the hell were you treating it like a pet for?” demanded Ranma. “You have a soft spot for small black furry animals or what?”

“Shut up!” Ryoga threw a punch at Ranma’s head, but found himself connecting with an akuma-ko that had dropped from the ceiling of the tunnel while covered in darkness. It exploded into ooze on impact with Ryoga’s fist, splattering all over Ranma’s frontside. 

“Ugh, disgusting!” 

He had no more time to retch because suddenly the akuma-ko were everywhere, skittering with their claws over the floors and walls, jumping and clawing at the three teenagers. One scratched Akane fiercely, tearing through the fabric of her pants leg. She brought down the blade of naginata through its head, feeling almost satisfied as it burst into ooze. 

She tried to stay back to back with Ranma so they could both avoid becoming surrounded. The strategy seemed to work. However, it took quite a bit of force to actually cause the akuma-ko to disintegrate, or they had to be sliced through with the blade of the naginata. Ranma used his _kachu tenshin amaguri-ken_ technique, but had to put more strength behind the flurry of punches than he usually did in order for them to be effective. 

There was no quick and easy way through like Ryoga’s _bakusai tenketsu_ had been with the stone soldiers. They had to slice, punch, kick, throw. Avoid the onslaught of tiny claws and huge teeth. 

At last, it seemed to be over. When every single akuma-ko seemed to be no more than a puddle of ooze on the floor of the cave, Akane dropped the naginata and fell to her hands and knees, panting. 

Ranma looked down at her, concerned. “Akane, are you all right?”

“I hate this!” she yelled. She shut her eyes tight, holding back tears. “I hate this!”

“Ah, come on Akane, I’ve never known you to get woozy over a little blood--”

“This isn’t blood!” She slapped at a viscous puddle of ooze with the flat palm of her bandaged hand. “I don’t know what this is! But I hate it!”

She pulled herself up to a sitting position against the wall of the tunnel. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she buried her head in her arms. 

Ranma crouched down in front of her. He gently reached out and touched her exposed kneecap. “Akane, you’re hurt.”

“It’s not that bad,” she mumbled without looking up. It really wasn’t. Just a scrape. Her arm hurt much worse, but she couldn’t tell him that. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Ranma suddenly looked up, straightening his spine. “Hey, where’s Ryoga?”

* * *

“Where the heck am I now?”

Ryoga, of course, was lost.

He had somehow gotten turned around during the fight with the akuma-ko and lost sight of Ranma and Akane. While trying to backtrack the way he came, he had somehow made his way back to the entrance of the fortress. He had paused, scratched his head, turned around again, and still ended up in an unfamiliar set of tunnels. He tried to follow Ranma’s original advice of keeping one hand on the left wall at all times, but it proved fruitless. Now he was at an intersection of several more different tunnels, none of which looked familiar. 

He crossed his arms. Ranma and Akane still had to face the fight with Zentoshi and he needed to get back to them. Sure, they could more than likely handle it on their own, but it would be harder without him. He hated to admit it, but when he and Ranma joined together to fight a common enemy, they made a good team. 

He pointed with his index finger at each tunnel opening in turn as he chanted, “ _Do_ _chi ra ni shi yo oh ka . . . na_!”

With a sigh, he headed down the tunnel he ended on, hoping it would lead him in the right direction.

Ten minutes later, he was outside, standing in front of the mineshaft entrance. 

The old man from earlier, still sitting in the same place, looked up at him in surprise. “Have you defeated Zentoshi already?” He looked up. “Ah, but the sky is still red. Where are your companions?”

Ryoga sucked at his teeth, trying to think of a response. He spread his hands out in exasperation. “Wherever they are, I’m sure they’re doing their best.”

* * *

Deep under the mountain, Akane worked up the energy to climb to her feet. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Ranma.

“Yeah,” she said, leaning down to pick up the naginata. “Let’s go. We’re not finished yet.”

“Right.” He set his jaw in determination. 

They didn’t make it much further down the tunnel when the familiar chittering and giggling sounds began once more. 

“Damn, not again,” grunted Ranma.

A second wave of akuma-ko swarmed them from the darkness. Akane jumped, wielding the weapon below her, sending it through the body of an akuma-ko, landing so that she gripped the staff as she balanced on the blade’s point. She spun her body, using her weight as a momentum to pivot in midair, slicing down through another group of the tiny demons. 

“Akane!” Ranma yelled from the other side of the tunnel while launching his own attacks against their foes. 

“What?” she cried, kicking another akuma-ko in the face, splattering it into ooze. 

“I’m sorry!”

“For what?!” she hollered, blinking in confusion. She ducked as an akuma-ko flew at her head. 

“All of it! Everything!” Ranma was punching and dodging as he continued. “I never thought to ask you about how you were feeling! Or what you really felt about Jusendo! Or the wedding! I should have! I should have asked! I was just caught up in my own stuff and how it made me feel. Typical Ranma, right?”

He smirked as he sent another akuma-ko into nonexistence with his fist. 

“Ranma, I--” Akane dodged and lunged, sweeping through a group of the pesky demons with her weapon. “I appreciate the thought, but is this really the time?”

“It’s too late coming already,” he replied. In a few movements, he cut through the crowd of small monsters until he was less than a foot away from her. “I don’t know if you can ever forgive me. Or even if I deserve it. But I’m sorry anyway. Not just for that. For every mean thing I’ve ever said. Every time I’ve tried to trick you. I’m sorry for not sorting it all out sooner.”

“Ranma--” There was a lull in the oncoming attacks, and she stared up at him, feeling tears forming in her eyes. “I--”

The last group of akuma-ko, a swarm of four, leaped as one at Ranma and Akane, tumbling into their chests, causing the two teens to fall backwards. Ranma grabbed Akane as they skidded down a short incline, crashing into a solid barrier. They both easily regained their positions and dispatched the akuma-ko, leaving nothing but another large puddle of ooze. 

"That's gotta be the last of 'em, right?" Ranma asked, keeping his hands up in a ready stance.

"I hope so," replied Akane. She turned around to look at what they had crashed into. It was another set of tall double doors made from smooth white stone. Although not nearly as massive as the fortress entrance, it was also decorated intricately with carvings of waves, animals, and what she now recognized as akuma-ko.

"Do you think he's in there?" asked Ranma.

"Maybe." Akane rubbed her arm. The burning feeling now stretched from her fingertips to her elbow. The curse's mark was going to be visible above the bandages very soon.

"All right," said Ranma. "Let's go in."

He confidently pushed at the door.

It didn't budge. 

"I got this, I got this," he reassured Akane. "Just gotta put a little weight behind it--HRRGH!"

He shoved at the door with his shoulder. Again, it didn't move. Akane wrinkled her nose.

"If Ryoga were here I'd just have him blast his way through it, that jerk," Ranma sighed. He lifted his arm, moving it around in the shoulder joint. "All right, one more try!"

He took a few steps back to get a running start, yelling with energy as he moved to punch the door as hard as he could. His knuckles slammed into the stone, sending shockwaves through his body.

The door still did not move.

"Yeeowch!" Ranma hopped away, shaking out his throbbing hand. "Is this stupid door cursed too?"

"Ranma," said Akane calmly.

"Eh?"

She pointed up at the top of the door. "Latch."

Indeed, there was a wide sliding bolt near the stone frame, keeping the door closed.

"Ah, okay," he sighed. He crouched down with his back turned to her. "Get on."

"What?"

"It's high up. Just get on my shoulders and open it."

"Oh. Okay." She walked over to him and climbed up his back until she was standing on his shoulders. When he had a firm grip on her ankles, he stood up. She easily slid the bolt open from this position and hopped down, landing in front of him, his hands placed lightly on her waist.

"Thanks," he grinned.

She looked up at him, her hands on his chest. Even though his face was covered in dirt and who knows what else, a bruise forming at the corner of his mouth, his hair caked in stone dust, she couldn't deny that he still looked handsome. And that his confidence was reassuring.

"Mmm," she replied, blushing and pulling away. For the first time, she felt a genuine desire to make it out of this place alive. 

"You ready?"

"Yeah." She meant it.

Ranma pushed at the doors again.

This time, they opened.


	12. His Second Biggest Fight

Akane and Ranma walked through the door, amazed at what they saw.

A grand stone staircase descended from where they were standing into a vast, truly immense open chamber. At the bottom of the staircase, the stone dropped into a sheer cliff, darkness below. But there were several other platforms at odd intervals, with square stone tiles on top. The chamber was well lit, large swinging chandeliers hanging from the ceiling adorned with hundreds of oil lamps, and giant, freestanding torches on some of the platforms. 

Also hanging from the ceiling were hundreds of various weapons, dangling from wires. Swords, axes, scythes. Spiked clubs and even giant boulders. If it had ever been used to hurt, it hung down from a series of interconnected wires crossing the roof of the chamber high above them.

And at the far side of the chamber, down below on a wide platform, was a throne. The back of the throne stretched from floor to ceiling, covered in similar carvings of akuma-ko that Akane had witnessed before. But here, near the top, these statues were different, malformed, as if the stone creatures were evolving and trying to escape. 

On either side of the throne were piles of scrolls, some open, some still sealed, and a host of other weapons and possibly magic implements Akane didn't recognize. 

And on the throne itself, Zentoshi.

He was a wide set man, the effect enhanced by the heavy, traditional style armor he was wearing, complete with a horned helmet. A smooth, thin black beard grew from his chin and he wore an eyepatch over one eye. 

Zentoshi seemed to take no notice of Ranma and Akane as they entered. He remained sitting sideways in his throne, a leg propped over one of the armrests. He took a long drag from the ancient pipe he was holding, exhaling a plume of green smoke.

Ranma took one step down, and Zentoshi spoke.

"Ah, so these are the greatest warriors that pathetic town could muster up," his voice boomed across the chamber. "Children."

"I'm not a child," Ranma declared angrily, marching halfway down the steps. "I'm a man."

"I see," Zentoshi said. He sat up properly, placing his feet on the floor and carefully laying his pipe on the arm of the throne. Stretching, he rose into a standing position. "But not a man from the village?"

"No, what's it matter?" Ranma narrowed his eyes. "I'm from Tokyo."

Zentoshi blinked. "I don't know where that is."

Ranma frowned, thinking. "Edo?"

Zentoshi shook his head. 

"Well, regardless, I'm a man from Tokyo and I'm here to take you down!"

"Ah," said Zentoshi. "Then man to man, I must thank you."

"What?"

"The door above could only be opened by human hands, and I myself placed a spell on it so it would be the only way I can enter or leave this chamber. I thought it would be safer." Zentoshi laughed without mirth. "A mistake on my part. It allowed those hicks to trap me in here."

Akane positioned herself at the top of the staircase, trying to maintain her grip on the naginata without shaking.

"Of course, I'm not strong enough to leave quite yet. I needed more blood for that ritual regardless, and it must be from those rotten townspeople. But you have certainly made things easier."

Without further conversation, Zentoshi leaped high into the air from the throne platform, landing on one of the tiled pillars that shook slightly with the impact. Akane noticed that he landed on one foot, balancing with a surprising grace.

Ranma waited at the bottom of the stairs in a defensive stance. She studied the lines of his back, the way his shoulders were positioned under his clothes. She knew that from the view in front, Ranma most likely looked loose, casual, and unassuming. But she recognized, even from behind, how he ever so slightly shifted his weight back into his heels. Controlling his breathing, his temper. Maintaining a soul of ice.

 _Hiryu shoten ha_? Already?

Akane looked around. None of the individual pillars were large enough to form a proper spiral. What was Ranma planning?

Zentoshi was leaping from pillar to pillar, landing on differently positioned tiles each time. Akane began to observe a pattern, but she couldn't figure out why he was doing it.

As Zentoshi grew closer, Ranma remained still at the bottom of the stairs. The lack of reaction on Ranma's part seemed to enrage the warlord, and he shouted with fury as he ascended one last time before reaching the staircase platform.

Ranma smirked, then leaped and met him in midair. He grabbed Zentoshi's arm that had extended out for a punch, spinning the both of them around. As he threw Zentoshi towards the far wall, he sent a tornado of cold energy after him. 

" _Hiryu shoten ha_!"

Akane blinked. He had done it horizontally, a move he had developed in Jusendo. Always so clever. 

Ranma landed on the nearest pillar to the staircase as Zentoshi slammed against the left wall of the cavern.

"What the--" Ranma's foot sunk down on one of the tiles until it made a clicking noise.

A spiked mace swung down from the ceiling. Ranma noticed and dodged just in time.

That was it! Akane rushed down the stairs, hopping to the pillar where Ranma was. She had much smaller feet than Zentoshi, and was able to keep them both on a single tile that was not a setup for a trap.

"Akane, you need to get out of the way--"

"Ranma, listen! These pillars are trapped!"

"Yeah, I just figured that out!"

"But there's a pattern to it! I noticed when Zentoshi was jumping around!"

"What is it?"

"It's a fibonacci sequence! You remember from math class?"

"Uhhhh . . ." Ranma scratched his chin.

Akane sighed. "One, one, two. Three, five, eight. You add a number to the one before it in the sequence. That's the pattern of the tiles that are safe to step on, if they're arching out from the throne. Do you get it?"

"I think so," Ranma nodded. He looked around and did some calculations in his head. "Thank you."

Zentoshi was recovering from being stunned and frozen against the wall. He pulled himself free of the ice to land on a safe tile on a pillar close to Ranma. He tilted his head back and let out a deep laugh, this one genuine. "Perhaps you are a man after all."

Ranma grinned. "Don't you forget it."

He looked over his shoulder at Akane. "You need to get out of the way."

"I can fight, Ranma!"

"Of course you can! But if anything happened to you--" He let the anger flow out of him and relaxed the tension in his shoulders. With a teasing smile he said, "Well, I would have to burn down this whole town, wouldn't I?"

He widened his grin as he back flipped into the air, dodging the strike Zentoshi had aimed at him from the rear.

Akane also dodged, jumping back to the staircase platform as Zentoshi's strike landed on the pillar. The impact resulted in it shattering and crumbling into the abyss below. Zentoshi pivoted back to Ranma, and the two met in midair, exchanging a rapid series of blows. All of Ranma's punches hit their intended targets, but his enemy's armor absorbed nearly all the impact.

They crashed to a pillar in a grapple, Ranma trying to count quickly on the descent to make sure he landed on a correct tile. 

"You're strong, boy," Zentaro grunted from the ground. "But not strong enough!"

He wedged his foot between them and kicked Ranma in the stomach, sending him flying.

Ranma grabbed a hold of one of the swinging oil lamp chandeliers and balanced on it. "Akane! The naginata!"

"Right!" She tossed it at him, and it spun through the air until Ranma caught it gracefully with one hand.

"Trying to stab me now, are you?" Zentoshi asked, smirking up at Ranma.

"Not exactly," Ranma said, shrugging. He flipped the weapon in his hand one more time, then dove from his position, striking downwards.

Zentoshi moved to cover his vital spots, but those weren't what Ranma was aiming for. Instead, he brought the blade down along Zentoshi's side and back, slicing through the leather straps holding his armor together.

The pieces all fell off at once as Ranma landed on a safe tile. He and Zentoshi turned to face each other. The warlord was now bare chested, his muscles bulking and thick veins were throbbing in his neck. His beard hung freely, nearly reaching his belly button, but other than that, he was--

"Bald," said Ranma in a tiny voice.

Not a single hair grew from the top of Zentoshi's perfectly round skull. It was so smooth a glare reflected off of it in the firelight.

Akane put her hands over her mouth to hide her giggling. Ranma, however, wasn't nearly as polite. He dropped the naginata and held his stomach as he let out loud, guffawing laughter.

Zentoshi clenched his fists at his sides, enraged. "I will not stand for this humiliation!"

He launched into another attack at Ranma, who easily dodged, still laughing. "Hey man, it's not that bad. My dad is bald, you know."

"Silence!" Zentoshi spun, attempting another broad punch that Ranma merely jumped over. 

Akane smiled. She hated being sidelined, but Ranma knew how to control an opponent. She couldn't help but admire how skillfully he maintained the high ground, taunting and evading his foe's attacks.

"But seriously, how did you get such a good barber all the way down here?" Ranma joked, jumping over Zentoshi and striking the flat of his palm on the smooth head, where it made a satisfying slap.

"Enough!" Zentoshi shouted. He grabbed Ranma by the ankle while he soared above, and then threw the young boy onto the neighboring pillar.

Ranma scrambled and lost count of the tiles, his elbow landing on a trick one that made an ominous click.

It triggered a release of one of the giant boulders, which dropped straight down and landed on top of Ranma's outstretched right leg.

"Aaah!" He screamed in pain, pinned to the ground.

"Ranma!" Akane lunged forward, ready to help him, but Ranma held up one hand.

"Stay back!" He yelled. "Akane, if you come over here, I'll never forgive you!"

She froze in place, placing her hands over her heart. "Ranma--"

"A pity my first challenge in centuries had to end so soon," Zentoshi said. He made his way over to the pillar neighboring the one Ranma was trapped on. "Although it wasn't a half bad fight."

"Don't worry," said Ranma, smiling through gritted teeth. "It's not over yet."

From where he was lying on the ground he pivoted his hips, using his free left leg to kick the boulder in Zentoshi's direction. The amount of force behind it surprised even Ranma himself, as the boulder hit Zentoshi in the stomach and sent him flying backwards.

Grimacing, Ranma pulled himself into a sitting position. After taking a deep breath, he did something more incredible.

He stood.

The bones in his right leg were shattered, Akane could tell by the angle he held it at as he balanced on one foot. But he was upright, keeping his breath even, as he raised his arms into crane position.

"Just like Karate Kid," he said, and turned to Akane and winked. "I love that movie."

"I know you do," she replied, smiling through the tears forming in her eyes.

A group of objects sailed through the air towards Ranma's head. He flipped out of the way and the projectiles landed on the pillar where he had been standing, exploding on impact.

"Oh, he's got bombs," Ranma said, remaining in a handstand on a neighboring pillar. "That's swell."

Zentoshi had been knocked all the way back onto the throne platform. His legs were in a wide stance after throwing the bombs at Ranma, his chest heaving with exertion.

"Why are you so hard to kill?!" Zentoshi yelled, preparing for another aerial attack.

"You know," Ranma said, flipping onto his one good leg. "I get that question a lot."

They clashed again in midair. This time, Ranma, distracted by the pain in his leg, missed a dodge and was caught in a grapple by Zentoshi, who threw him down as hard as he could into the closest pillar. Ranma frantically spun, counting the tiles so he could land on his good leg on a safe one.

 _Click_.

He had miscounted.

Akane looked up in horror as a scythe swung by its handle upside down, hurtling towards Ranma.

Almost in slow motion, it punctured the boy's chest just under his right shoulder, poking clear through to the other side.

In shock, Ranma slowly grabbed the scythe's handle and pulled the weapon out of his body and tossed it aside. The blood instantly began to soak through the front of his shirt and he clutched his wound with his left hand as his leg gave out beneath him, sending him to his knees.

"Ranma!" Akane was across the room in less than five seconds, sharing the pillar with Ranma, pressing both of her hands atop his own against the area of his chest that was spewing blood. 

"Ranma," was all she could say, trying not to dissolve into sobs.

"I'm--" His eyes looked cloudy, his head bobbing as if he were dizzy. "I'm--"

He was trying to say he was okay, Akane knew. But she also knew he wasn't. 

He wasn't okay.

Even Zentoshi seemed taken aback.

"A pity," he said, approaching the pair of teenagers. "It truly was an interesting fight. And I was so bored for so long. Alas, I have no more use for the two of you. Even your blood is worthless to me, children of Tokyo. Farewell."

Before Akane could react, Zentoshi hurled a grouping of bombs their way, but aimed them low at the bearings of the pillar. Akane wrapped her arms around Ranma as it collapsed and they tumbled into darkness.


	13. Still

Akane held onto Ranma as tight as she could. He was holding her too, but his grasp was so weak, and that was all she could think about as they fell into rubble. And then they were sliding, down some sort of tunnel, the rubble following them with a crash and a roar.

It seemed to go on forever. How far down could they go?

Finally, finally, they stopped, sliding apart across a damp stone floor. The rubble settled, filling in and blocking the opening they had just come from. Akane opened her eyes and rushed over to Ranma on her hands and knees. He had scooted himself back to a very slight sitting position, propping his head against a rock. He was clutching his wound and breathing heavily.

"Ranma!" Akane knelt beside him, helping him apply pressure.

"It's all right, it's all right," he panted. But it wasn't.

The cave they were in now was smaller, but had a high ceiling with dangling stalactites. A small, pond size body of water was over to one side, and like the rest of the cave system, the current cavern was illuminated by the glowing fungus.

The light was just bright enough that she could see how pale Ranma was. The sweat beading on his face. His eyes were drooping.

"Promise me, Akane--"

"Ranma, don't talk, save your energy!"

"No! Akane you need to promise me--"

"Promise what?"

He looked up through his bangs and grinned at her. How had he found the strength? "Promise me you'll beat that guy."

"I can't--Ranma I'm not like you-- I'm not strong enough--" She was choking down tears. 

"You have to. Look at your arm."

She looked down. Only a few tatters of bandage were hanging on, and the curse's mark had traveled nearly up to her shoulder, a few spidery tendrils arching towards her chest.

"I don't care--"

"I do. Now promise me, Akane."

She had no more arguments. She licked her parched lips, but her tongue was dry too and it did no good. "All right, Ranma. I promise. I promise I'll beat him."

"Good," he nodded weakly. He leaned his head back against the rock and closed his eyes, taking a deep, ragged breath. "I didn't say it just to win a fight."

"What are you--"

"I said it because I meant it." Ranma slipped his hand out from underneath hers, where they had been clamping down on his wound. He reached up and touched Akane's cheek softly, cupping her face, staining it with blood.

"I love you, Akane. I've always loved you."

His hand fell. His eyes rolled back. His head slipped off the rock and hit the ground with a wet _thwack_.

He no longer moved. At long last, Ranma Saotome was completely still.

Akane couldn't move either. But her breath kept coming, whether she wanted it to or not. Shaking, she pulled her hands away from Ranma's body, looking down at her blood covered fingers 

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

Not Ranma. He was so strong, so confident. He won every fight. The strongest man in Japan. In the world.

And now he was--he was--

 _Dead. He's dead, Akane_.

It was her own voice in her head delivering the message, in that flat, matter-of-fact tone it had taken on since they left China.

"NO!" She screamed this time, clutching her head, kicking out with her legs to back up away from Ranma--his body--as far as she could. "NO!"

She screamed again, again and again, until her throat was raw. Her tears were hot and blinding and unstoppable.

Just a few days ago she had never wanted to see him again. She had said she hated him, and she meant it. And hadn't he just wished for her to die? Staring down at her with ire on the train? He had jumped so foolishly into the whole situation, always headstrong and wild. Not once stopping to think. 

Not once stopping.

She fell to her side, pulling her knees up like a baby in the womb. She clawed at the ground, digging her fingernails into the stone. She closed her eyes. Her heart was gone, dissolved into nothingness. She didn't need it anymore. 

Her arm burned.

It was the only thing that compelled her to move, and the only thing she did was open her eyes. Maybe she could just cut the damn thing off.

 _Promise me, Akane_.

Ranma, his voice inside her head. She looked over. His body remained unmoved.

_Promise me!_

Crawling, she made her way over to the pile of rubble. The only way in or out of this cavern was the way they had came. Maybe the pond led to an underground river. But she couldn't swim.

Another thing she was bad at.

Struggling, she pulled herself upright, sitting back on her calves. She started pawing at the rubble, grabbing handfuls of rocks and dirt and tossing them to the side.

She dug until her fingertips were raw, her hands covered in stinging scrapes and scratches.

No good. She hadn't made a dent.

"See Ranma?" She looked down at her fingers. "I told you. I'm not strong enough."

_Promise me!_

"I can't!" she wailed, falling backwards, her forearm over her eyes. The ground was cold, but she was already cold, other than the burning pain in her arm. 

Water dropped from the ceiling into the little pond.

 _Plip-plop_.

I can't. 

_Promise me!_

I can't!

_Promise me!_

There was nothing left. Only despair.

Her eyes blinked open. She rested her hands flat on the ground by her side.

Despair.

Could she do it? She had seen Ryoga do it a hundred times, hadn't she? Seen the process when Ranma was training, trying to master it. And after all, wasn't the whole thing invented to clear rubble?

She let the despair course through her, tracking the energy of it as it flowed through her body. Pushing it up through her chest and down her arms.

She stood, gathering the energy between her hands. It was crackling, intense, but cold. She pushed it forward, the muscles in her shoulders straining as she shouted.

" _SHI SHI HOKODAN!_ "

A wide beam of light and force shot out from her open palms. It blasted through the rubble, disintegrating the rocks and stones, scattering dust.

When the dust cleared, leaving nothing but a few wisps of smoke hanging in the air, Akane looked up at the now open maw of the tunnel and fell to her knees.

"I did it," she whispered.

The burning in her right arm surged. No time to waste.

Without turning to look back at Ranma ( _his body!_ ), she climbed through the tunnel's entrance and began her ascent.

* * *

The tunnel possessed a steeper incline than Akane had expected. It was difficult to maintain her footing in some places, as the soles of her sneakers were coated in blood and ooze. The ceiling was low and in most spots she had to keep her neck bent and crawl.

After what she estimated to be about twenty-five feet, the tunnel branched in two directions. Akane paused before taking the left path, which turned out to be even steeper, but she wasn't going back. Eventually, this path led to an opening in a wall that she wriggled through, dropping down onto what turned out to be a staircase.

Even, but clearly ancient, steps were carved into the stone. She had landed in the middle of the staircase, so she could go up or down. Frowning, she headed up.

This wasn't the way they had fallen. She wasn't sure where it would lead her, perhaps out of the mountain altogether. But if it did, she would turn right back around and tear Zentoshi to shreds.

And then she would burn that entire fucking town to the ground. 

The staircase wound its way up through the mountain, increasing her curiosity as to where it led with every step. After taking one last turn, the stairs ended in front of an opening with no door. 

There was a bright light, brighter than the fungus, coming from that opening. She walked through it, realization poking at the back of her mind.

She took a few steps forward, looked down, and grinned.

Perfect.


	14. A Promise is a Promise

Akane stood on a stone catwalk above the throne room. From here, she could see all the dangling weapons from above, how the wires crisscrossed and connected with various gears and levers. She could pace around the entire cavern from up here. There were various implements leaned against the wall, and replacement barrels of oil most likely needed for the hanging chandeliers.

She stuck her head out past the edge of the platform, trying to get eyes on Zentoshi. He was standing on top of the staircase near the door Ranma and Akane had originally entered during their initial confrontation.

There were piles of scrolls on either side of him. Zentoshi would pick up one, read through it, make a gesture Akane couldn't decipher the meaning of, then attempt to put his hand through the doorway. She watched him repeat this process three times, and each time his hand would come up against an invisible barrier. He would mutter something angrily and toss the scrolls aside.

Akane didn't really care about his escape attempts. What interested her was that he hadn't donned his armor again, which was good. And he was distracted, which was even better.

She reached her hand out to touch one of the wires.

"Aah!" Gasping in mild surprise, she jerked her hand back and stuck her finger in her mouth to soothe the small new cut. The wires were sharp.

Studying the throne room from above, she quietly moved along the catwalk, developing a strategy. It was easy to see how the wires worked, how the levers and gears operated. How easy they would be to reattach.

Except they were too sharp to handle barehanded. She reached down and tore off the fabric from the bottom of her t-shirt, leaving her midriff exposed. She tore the fabric into strips and wrapped them around her hands, padding her palms.

Good enough.

Crouching low, she knew she would have to work silently and speedily. Zentoshi was distracted for now, but if she were to make a commotion there was no doubt he would notice.

She brought her aura in, stamping out any trace of her presence. She had only seen Ranma properly perform this technique once, but her soul felt so empty the maneuver came easily.

 _Umisen-ken_ \--the art of the sneaky thief.

* * *

It was only minutes before Akane completed her task, wrapping the last wire around the lever she needed it to connect to. Now for enacting the final step. But how to reveal herself?

What would Ranma do?

The thought pained her while also sparking the tiniest bit of amusement. She knew exactly what he would do.

Smoothly gliding along the catwalk, she made her way to the part of it directly above the throne. With a deep breath, she jumped down.

As she landed in the wide, deep seat of the throne, she crossed her legs and rested her elbow on the arm, propping her chin up with her hand. 

Zentoshi had not noticed, his back still to her.

Akane rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, the sound echoing off the walls of the cavern.

Zentoshi did turn, then, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight of Akane. "You!"

She grinned and held up her free hand to wave, wiggling her fingers.

"Hiiii~~!"

Zentoshi took one step down the stairs. Even shirtless, barefoot, and bald, he was an imposing figure. Yet Akane felt no fear.

"So you've come back? Alone? Heh, and here I thought you were no more than decoration for the male child's arm. You appear to be more resilient than I assumed."

"You got that right." That's something Ranma would say, isn't it?

"Well," Zentoshi said as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He pulled his arms back and formed his hands into fists, adopting a ready stance. "Let's see what kind of a fight you'll give me."

"Come and get it," Akane replied. She remained seated.

Zentoshi leaped, high in the air, landing on a pillar in the center of the room, making a thunderous crash.

Akane yawned.

Zentoshi jumped again, this time covering the distance all the way over to the throne platform. Aiming a fist at Akane's head, he yelled with anger as he let gravity add to the force of his swing.

She ducked.

Zentoshi's fist struck the back of the throne, cracking it down the middle.

From below, Akane grinned. "Gotcha!"

She pulled out a length of chain she had salvaged from the wire contraption above from the waistband of her pants. She tossed it up and over Zentoshi's thick forearm and twisted, trapping him. Holding on to the ends of the chain, she slid between his legs and flipped up until she was sitting on his back. His arm was pulled between his legs and up at a painful angle as his face was forced to the ground.

"How is this happening?" Zentoshi growled from his submissive position. 

"I learned from the best!" Akane replied cheerily. She wondered if this guy had the same smarts as Ryoga. If he did, it would put a damper on her plans.

He did not. Instead of using one impossibly strong arm to propel himself off the ground, like she had seen her friend do in a schoolyard fight a lifetime ago, this enemy simply shook her off.

She had known she wouldn't be able to hold him long. She didn't have the strength. She may have been borrowing his moves, but she wasn't Ranma.

She was Akane.

Flying through the air, she turned her body in the direction she wanted to go, but attempted to look frantic. It had to look natural. Like she had made a mistake.

 _Click_.

She landed on one of the trick tiles.

Zentoshi brought himself to his feet, staring at her with anticipation. 

Nothing happened.

Well, nothing fell from the sky anyway.

"Hmm?" said Zentoshi. "A dud? Or one of the ones the boy already triggered?"

Akane shakily lifted her hands in a defensive posture.

The shaking, however, was purely performative. 

Akane knew that the gears she had triggered with her purposeful "misstep" were pulling the wires she had attached to them taut. But she couldn't let Zentoshi know that. She had to lead him to the right place.

Zentoshi focused his attention back to Akane and attacked. She evaded his fist as it came down in front of her, but as she jumped into the air Zentoshi grabbed her around the middle and hurled her across the room and she crashed into the wall.

Her back and shoulders throbbed with the impact, but nothing was seriously damaged. She pulled herself out of the dent that had been created and threw herself forward into her own attack.

It was nearly impossible to land a hit. Zentoshi was tall, even taller than Ranma who had nearly ten inches on her now. His reach was long and he was incredibly strong. She couldn't get past him to lead him into position.

After he deflected yet another one of her punches, she landed on a safe tile on a pillar neighboring the one Zentoshi was standing on.

She knelt, gathering up her energy, managing to project an almost visible aura of ferocity. She chuckled as she rose to her feet.

"All right, you asked for it," she said, bringing her elbows in towards her hips and widening her stance. "The Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Ultimate Secret Technique!"

Zentoshi's eyes flashed with interest and a spark of fear. "Finally, you seem serious! Unleash your technique, girl!"

Akane grinned, fire in her eyes. Then, suddenly, she looked up, blinking. Her shoulders dropped and her aura dissipated. She looked over Zentoshi's shoulder and said in a curious tone, pointing casually with one finger, "Huh, what's that over there?"

"Where?!" He jerked his head back to look behind him.

"An opening!" Akane leapt and aimed a kick at his face, connecting squarely with his jaw.

As she landed on the other side of him, she was quite pleased to see Zentoshi spit out a good amount of blood and rub his cheek in pain.

"Feh, a child's trick," he growled. Akane could tell he was genuinely embarrassed. "It won't happen again!"

He jumped forward, aiming a kick of his own. But the confidence resulting from her ploy being successful filled Akane with a kind of lightness and a newfound sense of agility. She back flipped with an almost reckless sense of carelessness, but Zentoshi's attack didn't even come close to hitting her.

"You're right," she said as she landed safely. "Something like that could never work a second time. I'm not stupid. After all--OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT?"

This time she shrieked and pointed frantically in the distance.

Reflex caused Zentoshi to turn his head once again. 

"Idiot!" Akane kicked him again, but aimed lower this time, hitting him in the stomach and knocking the wind out of him.

Again, she landed on a pillar past him, heading towards the corner of the throne room.

Zentoshi recovered quickly, and this time he was on fire with rage. He jumped and caught hold of Akane before she could get away. He lifted her up by the front of what was left of her shirt.

"You may think you're funny, but you simply do not have the strength the male child possessed," he growled, and then punched Akane in the face. 

It stunned her, but only for a second, and as she flew through the air, she managed to right herself once more. Only slightly off target, but still on a safe tile. She counted quickly and determined where she needed to be.

"You're right," Akane said. She leapt to another pillar. "I'm not as strong as Ranma."

Zentoshi also jumped, but kept his distance on another pillar, as he knew there weren't enough safe tiles left on hers to follow. Good, she had counted on this.

"And I'm not as fast as Ranma," she said, jumping again. Zentoshi followed, taking her place on the pillar she had just left.

"But I was always, always--"

One more jump with him following. She landed in the exact right place she needed to be.

"Better at math."

 _Click_.

Zentoshi, on the neighboring pillar, laughed heartily. "You've done it now, girl. Made the same mistake as the boy. It's only---"

 _Snap. Swish. Swwwick. Twaang_.

Akane turned around right before the wires she had released made contact with Zentoshi's flesh, cutting him to pieces. She didn't look back as she heard the wires go slack, as his limbs and head made wet thumping sounds on the ground.

The only thing she looked at was her arm, as the dark mark of the curse quickly faded away, leaving nothing but her pale, grime covered skin. 

The burning was gone and she felt cold.


	15. How to Get Out

Ryoga paced back and forth in front of the Chihayama clinic. After discovering his challenge with following directions, Toshiko had insisted he not return to the mountain by himself and instead stay close by and wait.

He hated waiting. Ranma and Akane needed his help. But Toshiko was right, he wouldn't be able to go by himself. So waiting it was.

Toshiko came out of the front door of the clinic, carrying a cup of tea. "Here, Hibiki-kun."

"Ah, thank you," he said. He sipped at it while still pacing, appreciating its warmth.

Suddenly, the sky turned blue.

The red haze had disappeared all at once, revealing a cloudless expanse.

Ryoga and Toshiko looked up together in wonder.

"It appears your friends were successful," she said.

"Yeah, of course they won," Ryoga agreed, grinning. "Ranma always does."

* * *

Akane set the whole room on fire.

Could stone burn? She would certainly try. She dumped out the spare oil everywhere she could, and cut down the chandeliers, covering the throne room in flames, making especially sure all those stupid scrolls were alight before she left.

And she left the way she and Ranma originally fell, down through the steep slide of the tunnel. It was easier to control her descent this time. She even managed to regain her footing the last few feet and simply walk through the opening at the end.

Part of her desperately hoped that she would find Ranma awake, sitting up against the rock, grinning arrogantly and sticking his tongue out at her.

_You fell for it, idiot!_

But of course, that wasn't the case.

Ranma, no, _his body_ , was exactly where she left him, it, him. Still. Unmoved. Flat on his back, head turned to the side.

Akane fell to her knees.

She hadn't been fighting to save Ranma, like he had done for her in Jusendo. It was too late to save him. And she didn't care about the stupid, unfamiliar town that had deposited its problems on the backs of three strange teenagers. She hadn't fought to save the world from being conquered by a bloodthirsty, ancient warlord.

She had made a promise.

But mostly, it had been revenge.

She hated who she had been up there, during the fight. Hated how much she had to copy from Ranma, Ryoga, everyone else. Hated how good it had felt to kick the guy's teeth out. Hated how little she cared about how methodically and violently she had killed him. She hated how little she cared about the innocent townspeople.

Guilty for not feeling guilt.

She cried.

Big, heaving sobs, letting the tears spill out of her as she hunched over on the ground. Crawling, she made her way on her hands and knees over to Ranma. She laid beside him--his body!--and curled her knees up to her chest.

 _I'll die right here_.

She had injuries, yes. Bruises, cuts, scrapes. But nothing life threatening. But she would die, right here, of heartbreak, or exhaustion, whichever took her first. 

She reached out to touch Ranma, feeling the silk of his shirt under her fingertips. Gently, she pulled herself over until she had wrapped her arm around his torso and laid her head on his chest.

The least she could do is die in his arms.

She closed her eyes and held him tightly. It was too late to focus on her regrets, and she had so many. But those were over now. It was too late. Maybe, like Ranma, she could finally get some rest.

And then she heard it.

She thought she was going crazy, at first. Maybe it was only her own--

She opened her eyes and pressed her ear deeper into his chest.

There it was.

A heartbeat.

Thready, faint, weak, but regular.

"Ranma!"

Akane was really crying now as she sat up. She leaned her head over his and listened. There, again, faint, shallow. So, so, shallow.

Breathing.

She started laughing through her tears. "Oh, Ranma."

Could it be real? She hadn't fallen into a dream? No, her shoulders were aching and her hands were stinging.

Real.

Ranma was really alive.

After the wonder and shock started to subside, a brand new feeling took over Akane. 

Panic.

They needed to get out of here. 

Ranma was alive, miraculously, incredibly, alive, but his injuries were severe and who knew how long he would last.

The way she had come was on fire, now, and there were no other exits. The pond? Again, she couldn't swim, and who knew where it led.

She stood and looked up at the high ceiling of the cavern. It was so tall, maybe a hundred feet? 

And then she saw it.

A tiny speck of blue.

All the way up at the top of the cavern, a bright blue spot of daylight. Of course, when Zentoshi had died, the red barrier must have gone with him. And this must mean they weren't under the mountain peak, but under the valley somewhere. Could that be possible? It seemed like they had gone into the earth forever. But here it was, proof of day, right above her head.

She needed to get up there. And that opening needed to be bigger. She needed a way to blast straight up---

Oh no. She couldn't do it again. And not---no. No! 

But she had to. If she didn't, Ranma would really be dead, forever, and it would be all her fault.

Despair.

It grew inside of her again.

Everything that had happened. How callous, how cold, how cruel she had been. And now, Ranma was the one suffering for it.

The energy was massive this time. She had to ground it in her feet and let it develop from there. It was rising, overtaking her, exploding from her body--

"PERFECT _SHI SHI HOKODAN_!"

A massive column of light and energy shot vertically from the ground encircling her and blasted through the roof of the cave. It continued upward through multiple layers of stone until it reached soft earth, spraying dirt into the sky. The beam continued skywards, reaching massive heights, visible for miles.

Then all that energy sank back down. Akane knew to let her body, her spirit, be empty, so she wouldn't be crushed by the heaviness of it.

A crater formed around her as the energy crashed down, and she fell to her knees, exhausted.


	16. Curses

Ryoga stared into the distance, surprised once more. It had been nearly an hour since the sky had cleared, and there was still no sign of Ranma and Akane.

And now, a perfect _shi shi hokodan_? How had Ranma managed to pull that off?

Toshiko watched with him as the vertical column of light rose in the distance. "What on earth is that?"

"It's a move born out of pure despair," Ryoga replied grimly.

For Ranma to feel that much pain, something must have happened to Akane. He turned to Toshiko.

"I hope this place has a good fire department."

* * *

Akane stared up at the now clear, wide opening revealing the sky. She had done it. Now all she had to do was climb out of here.

But she was exhausted. Sore. Her brain felt jumbled and cloudy. She turned back to Ranma. She carefully attempted to lift him onto her back, but he was too heavy. Especially with his body being completely limp, it was hard to lift him properly. Normally she could carry him, no problem, but she was so exhausted, especially after the _shi shi hokodan_. If only he were thirty pounds lighter.

She looked over at the pond. She rushed over and cupped her hands together, scooping up water, and ran back, praying it was enough. 

_Splash!_

Akane watched Ranma shrink into his female form, grateful it had worked. Carefully, she unfastened his shirt. Luckily he had a tank top on underneath so he wasn't completely topless. But now she had a clear look at his wound. The blood had clotted and begun to dry, fortunately before he had bled out. 

Lucky, lucky Ranma.

She fastened his shirt around his now much smaller form into a sort of sling and tied him to her back. Carefully, she stood, evaluating her balance and weight. She made sure the fabric was tied tightly around her front and that Ranma was secure in place.

She found her footing on the sizable pile of rubble left behind by the blast, and began to climb. Hand over hand, placing the toes of her sneakers in any hold she could find, over the rubble, and up the nearly sheer walls of the cavern. 

Her hands were wrapped in rags, but still covered in dirt and her joints were aching.

She climbed.

The sun was directly above her and she began to sweat. She still didn't feel warm, only miserable and filthy.

She climbed.

What would she do when she reached the top? How far away from town were they? Could she make it in time?

She climbed.

Her biceps screamed. Her forearms hollered. Her fingers cursed. She wanted to cry. No tears came. There weren't any more left.

She climbed.

Ranma! She had used to hate boys, so much. And then Ranma came. And she hated him too. But then she found out how brave he could be, how strong, how resilient, how surprisingly kind he was under all that bluster. How he could shake off anything and persevere. And then she became downright obsessed with him, and she hated that. She had never wanted to be the type of girl hung up on a guy, especially a guy that didn't like her back.

But she was. She had been that way with Tofu-sensei. And then she was that way with Ranma, too. Neither one gave her the time of day. 

But that wasn't true, was it?

_I love you, Akane. I've always loved you._

Always?

The way he had so eagerly accepted her friendship during their first meeting when Akane thought he was a girl. The way he had breezily fought Kuno. The way he had declared to everyone publicly that she was his fiancee in the middle of an ice rink. 

She reached her right arm up, grabbed hold of an outcropping, and pulled.

_Always._

She had been an idiot.

_Always._

She pulled herself farther up with her left hand, digging her fingers into the rock.

 _I've always loved you_. 

"I'm such a jerk," she whispered to herself.

She was almost to the top.

Her elbows hurt when she bent them. What was that about? She lifted one knee, found a foothold, pressed on.

Why had she picked so many fights? Why didn't she ever just stop and listen to him? Sure, some of their banter was just flirting, but some of it--

She was there. One hand reached over the edge and landed in soft grass. With a deep breath, she heaved herself and Ranma up and over. She let herself rest on her knees for a moment, placing her hands on the ground. The grass was cool on her fingers and as she looked up, she realized she was in the middle of a field of brilliantly colored wildflowers. Purples, reds, and yellows sprinkled throughout the green of the meadow, a few trees here and there in full bloom as well. The mountain sloped upward nearby, looking not nearly as imposing as it did before.

"Akane--"

She froze. "Ranma!"

Slowly, she slung him around to her front, untying the ramshackle harness. There was an old log on its side she sat him on. She knelt in front of him, looking into his face.

"Ranma, you're awake?"

He tilted forward, his eyes only half open. He was so pale, and the features of his female face were so much more delicate than when he was a boy.

"Did you--" He hesitated, drawing in ragged breaths. "Did you win?"

Akane smiled sadly. "Yeah. I did."

He reached out his shaking hands to grab hers. He looked intensely at the hand that had borne the curse mark, inspecting it.

"Good."

Then he lifted her hands in his and brought them to his lips, lingering for only a second before he passed out and slumped forward again. Akane caught him around his shoulders, crying out his name.

"Ranma!"

She listened to his chest again. His heart was beating, still. He was breathing, still.

Akane sighed with relief and bound him back into the sling, lifting him up and carrying him out of the valley.

* * *

Ryoga kept pacing. Toshiko had brought him cup after cup of tea, and their soothing effect diminished with each one. The people of Chihayama had started to leave their houses, celebrating in the streets. Ryoga had decided to stay outside behind the clinic rather than the front. Their joy felt ominous when he didn't know the status of Ranma's or Akane's safety.

The area behind the clinic was mostly dirt with a small vegetable garden, but it had an open view of the rolling hills that led down the valley. Ryoga kept looking out, wondering. Hoping.

"Hibiki-kun, why not come inside to eat?" Toshiko laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Not hungry." He shook his head.

"I understand you are concerned for your friends, but they must have won in order for the sky to clear. It seems Saotome-kun's confidence was well earned."

"I know, but--" Ryoga sighed, unable to finish his thought. He had already attempted an explanation of the _shi shi hokodan_ , how it worked, what it meant. But for all her empathy, Toshiko barely knew them. She had only ever met an angry, depressed Ranma and a distant, lonely Akane.

He paused, staring out down the valley again. Memories of the warm spring night after Happosai's funeral floated through his mind. Singing his lungs out with the chorus of an old song. Lying under the stars with his two best friends. Dancing with Akane just to make Ranma jealous.

If something had happened to either one of them, he'd burn this town to the ground himself. 

And then, he saw it. Her.

Akane, hunched, struggling her way up the hillside. Alone.

Alone?!

No, she was carrying something on her back. Not something. Someone.

"Ran--Ranma!" 

Ryoga ran forward as fast as his legs could carry him 

"Ranma! Akane!"

He slid the last few feet in the dead grass, coming to a stop in front of Akane. She let her knees weaken and he caught her around the elbows.

"Ryoga-kun--"

"Akane-san--"

She clutched his shirt sleeves, sinking lower to the ground. "Ranma--help Ranma--"

He helped her unite the makeshift sling. The shirt, Akane, Ranma, all covered in blood. He carefully, slowly, lifted up Ranma's female body, carrying him like a cradled baby. Ranma wasn't moving. His leg was mangled. 

Toshiko had followed him, although she was a bit slower in reaching the pair. She looked at Ryoga holding Ranma and narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Who is--?"

"Hot water," said Akane. "He needs hot water." 

"Aah. Jusenkyo?"

"You know about--?"

Toshiko nodded. "I have a curse myself."

She dumped the cup of tea she was holding over his head and Ranma resumed his male form. It somehow made his injuries look even worse.

"Come, let's get him inside."


	17. Waiting

"Akane-san?"

Ryoga stood over her, offering a cup of tea. She had let them take Ranma, away, out of her sight. There had been a blur of activity, nurses and doctors lifting Ranma onto an emergency bed, assessing his injuries, yelling out medical jargon she didn't understand. The colors didn't come into focus for her as she watched them cut away Ranma's tank top and pants. His leg was purple and swollen from hip to toe.

Ranma. Ranma! How could this happen to Ranma?

And they had wheeled him away, not letting her follow, and she finally let herself sink down into a chair in the waiting room.

She looked up at Ryoga and blinked. She reached out and took the tea from him, cupping her hands around it, desperately trying to absorb the warmth.

"Thank you."

"Mm."

He sat next to her and didn't say anything else for a long time.

She was as grateful for the silence as she was for the tea. A television mounted in the corner of the waiting room was set to a low volume, and the mutterings of newscasters were easy to tune out. Somewhere she could hear the clink of metal, footsteps on tile, a stray cough. A door opening and shutting.

The tea felt good on her parched lips. She had cried herself dry, sweated herself into dehydration. After one sip, she took another, and another, and began chugging it down, not caring about the heat burning her throat. 

Ryoga looked down at the empty cup in her hands. "Would you like another?"

"Yes."

He took it from her and walked away. After a few minutes, he returned with a fresh cup. Greedily, she grabbed it and gulped it down. Not as hot this time, probably Ryoga trying to prevent her from burning herself. The taste was weaker, but still good. When was the last time she ate?

"Akane-san." Ryoga resumed his seat next to her. "Can you tell me what happened?"

She stared straight ahead and spoke firmly. "Ranma fought the guy. He lost. I fought him. I won."

And that was that.

"I'm surprised Ranma lost, even after performing a perfect _shi shi hokodan_ \--"

"He didn't."

"But I saw--"

"I know what you saw."

"Akane-san, did you--"

"Akane-san?" This was Toshiko, having stepped into the waiting room, holding a clipboard. "Would you allow me to check out your injuries?"

"I'm fine."

"Please, Akane-san. It should only take a few moments."

"Akane-san, please let her look at you. You're clearly hurt."

She looked at Ryoga. He had such a concerned expression, her resolve wavered. 

"Okay."

* * *

Toshiko asked her to shower first, leading Akane to a small private room with its own bathroom. 

"Here's a change of clothes for you. I'm sorry they might be a little big."

Akane just nodded and clutched the bundle to her chest as she shuffled into the bathroom. She sat on the toilet as she took off her shoes. It hadn't even occurred to her how rude she must have seemed for leaving them on. They were disgusting, soaked in blood and sweat and unidentifiable substances. Her socks were similar, clinging to her sticky skin as she pulled them off. She undressed, not that there were much of her clothes left. She unwound the ragged strips of fabric from her hands and let them drop to the floor.

The lever in the shower made a creak as she turned it on. Akane stood outside and stuck her hand under the stream of water, waiting for it to heat up. When it finally turned hot and penetrated through the thick layer of grime on her fingers, it began to sting her cuts and scrapes. Gritting her teeth, she stepped into the shower anyway. 

Under the shower stream, she finally realized how much blood was all over her. How much of it was her own? She used the little bottle of hospital shampoo to lather up her hair. She was glad she had kept it short. 

She washed her face. There was a bruise on her right cheekbone that she poked at tenderly. She had had worse. Her back was bruised too, but not terribly. She soaped her shoulders, which were sore with a dull ache. Her chest. She took a deep breath, which came full and easy. Her forearms, her hands. They stung, again, but after cleaning them she realized the scrapes weren't that bad, although her skin was a little raw. 

She worked her way down to her feet, which stank, even in the shower. She scrubbed and scrubbed. Her knee was throbbing, but she had hurt it worse when she was a kid tripping on the sidewalk.

It felt selfish, how little she was hurt. Selfish to take the time to shower and get clean and rest, when Ranma was on a table somewhere, surely cut open and struggling to live. It wasn't right for her to take this time for herself, when Ranma was hurt and it was all her fault.

She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. The clothes she had been given were much too big, but clean and comfortable. A pair of sweatpants that were long and baggy. She pulled them up over her belly button, tied the drawstring tight, and folded the waistband down to hold them in place. The t-shirt was also huge and long, so she tucked it into the pants and attempted to roll the sleeves up into cuffs. 

Good enough.

Toshiko was waiting for her outside the bathroom with a pair of slippers. She led Akane to an exam room. Akane climbed onto the paper covered bed, it crinkling beneath her. Toshiko looked at her facial bruises, shined a light in her eyes. Listened to her chest with the stethoscope.

Breathe in. Out.

She disinfected and bandaged Akane's hands, her knee. When she finished, she took a step back and looked at Akane, her eyes soft.

"Anything else that hurts?"

Akane shook her head. A lie. But it wasn't the kind of hurt a doctor could help anyway.

Toshiko nodded. "The good news is there doesn't appear to be any internal damage. Your lacerations don't appear to be infected. The bruising on your cheek is mild and should hopefully go down in a few days. I'm quite impressed. You're a very tough young woman."

Akane smiled weakly. "I've heard that before."

Toshiko let Akane go back to the waiting room to sit with Ryoga. He stood as she entered, twining his fingers nervously. 

Akane gave him a small smile. "Don't worry, Ryoga-kun. I'm all right."

The relief that washed over him at the sight of her smiling was visible. "I'm glad."

They sat together again, not talking. Akane wanted to, she wanted to tell him, all about the fight, what happened to Ranma, all of her regrets. The words stuck in her throat. Instead, she chewed on one of her thumbnails and anxiously bounced her leg up and down.

Nearly half an hour later, Toshiko reentered the room accompanied by another doctor in surgical scrubs.

Akane and Ryoga both jumped to their feet instantly. 

"Is it Ranma?"

"Is he--?"

Toshiko nodded. "He's all right for now. Stable. But he's lost a lot of blood. And it seems he's type O negative."

"So?" asked Akane.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any of that type on hand right now. We've put in a request at a nearby hospital, but we're unsure how quickly it can get here." Toshiko looked at each of them in turn. "I know this is a long shot, Akane-san, Hibiki-kun, but---"

Akane shook her head. "I'm AB positive."

Another way she had failed Ranma. 

Ryoga was staring down at the ground, his shoulders sloped as he began to laugh.

"Ryoga-kun, what is funny right now?"

He looked up, grinning, flashing his fangs. "He's really gonna owe me big time for this."

* * *

Akane was alone while they drew Ryoga's blood. She tried to watch television, but the images kept going fuzzy in front of her eyes. 

Ryoga and Ranma shared a blood type. Of course they did.

She slid back in her chair, expelling a big breath of air from her puffed up cheeks. Nothing from her was ever going to be good enough.

"Hey." 

Ryoga was back, standing in front of her, grinning stupidly. His arms were full of various snacks, cookies, and prepackaged sandwiches.

"You hungry?"

She tried to resist the food he offered, but her stomach was moaning. She took a sandwich from his stash and used her teeth to rip open the plastic. Eagerly, she took one large bite of the sandwich and nearly burst into tears.

It was the most delicious sandwich she had ever eaten.

The two of them sat on the floor, a pile of food between them. They worked their way through one item at a time, often splitting or offering a bite to each other of the most desired foodstuffs.

One of Ryoga's sleeves was pushed up, with a bandage wrapped around the crease of his elbow.

"Does it hurt?" Akane asked.

"What, this?" He swallowed the bite of food in his mouth and pointed at his elbow. "Nah, no big deal."

Akane blushed a little. "I'm actually kinda afraid of needles."

"What? No way!"

"Mmhmm. But you can't tell anyone! Especially not Ranma. I'd never hear the end of it."

 _Selfish selfish selfish!_ Her brain screamed at her. _Complaining about Ranma while you stuff yourself? How dare you!_

Ryoga laughed. "Your secret is safe with me, Akane-san. But don't worry, everybody's afraid of something."

"Mmm." She looked down at the half eaten brownie in her hand. "I think I'm full."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You can have it."

She shoved it in his direction and looked away.

Ryoga shrugged and accepted the treat. 

They stayed on the floor quietly for several minutes. Akane pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs. Ryoga slowly polished off the remainder of the food.

"Ryoga-kun," Akane whispered after a long while.

He scooted over closer to her to hear what she was saying.

"It was terrible," she continued whispering. "I thought he was dead. He might still die."

"You can't kill Ranma," replied Ryoga, but there was a lump in his throat. "He's like a cockroach."

She leaned her head on his shoulder and shut her eyes. "I really hope so."

Ryoga put his arm around Akane. Six months ago, the thought of doing something like that would have caused him to vomit from anxiety. But now, here, on the floor of a hospital waiting room, surrounded by food wrappers and comforting her while she cried silent tears, the truth was cemented for him.

He was no longer in love with Akane.

No.

Akane was his sister.

If Ranma didn't live, Ryoga was going to kill him.

* * *

Eventually, Ryoga got a pack of cards from the nurses station and convinced Akane to play with him.

They sat on the floor, playing Old Maid, with a fairly equal win/loss ratio.

"Well, you are a little better than Ranma," said Akane, pulling a card from Ryoga's hand. A seven. She paired it with the seven she was holding and set it aside.

_stupid selfish playing games and insulting him what is wrong with you_

Ryoga pulled the lone queen from her hand, frowning as he turned it around.

"Maybe not that much better," Akane said, smiling. She wanted to giggle, but didn't feel she deserved laughter.

"This is a kid's game anyway," Ryoga grumbled, shuffling his cards together. 

"You hate to lose almost as much as Ranma does," Akane said. And instead of bringing a surge of guilt through her, this thought brought a rush of comfort. 

"Hmmprh," Ryoga grunted, not disagreeing, and fanned his cards back out. 

"Akane-san? Hibiki-kun?"

Toshiko and the surgeon again. But this time they were--

Akane's eyes widened.

They were smiling.

She leapt to her feet, dropping the cards she was holding and scattering the neat piles of pairs on the floor. 

"Ranma? Is he--?"

"I am happy to say it looks like Saotome-kun is going to make a full recovery."

Akane stepped back, her head spinning.

_Ranma is okay Ranma is alive Ranma is all right Ranma Ranma Ranma--_

"See, Akane-san? I told you. Cockroach."

Akane kept her gaze on the floor as Toshiko continued talking.

"Although he lost a lot of blood, luckily his lung wasn't punctured. He does have several stitches on his front and back, but it looks like his wound will heal cleanly. It turns out the bigger problem was his leg. It suffered massive trauma and we had to perform surgery. His bones are currently held together by a series of plates and screws."

"Will he be able to walk?" Ryoga asked.

"Hopefully. There doesn't seem to be any nerve damage. But it will take a while to heal fully, and he'll need physical therapy. But he is currently in a full cast and will be for several weeks."

"Can we see him?" Ryoga asked.

"Sure," said Toshiko. "He's already awake."


	18. Truth

Akane was shaking as Toshiko led her and Ryoga down various hallways to Ranma's room. Ryoga noticed her trembling and reached out to take her hand. She was grateful for the act of comfort, but deep inside she wished it was Ranma's hand. Yet Ryoga's hand felt warm, calloused, brotherly. She squeezed it tightly. 

Toshiko stopped in front of a wooden door and knocked gently. She opened it and leaned inside. "Saotome-kun? Are you ready?"

"Sure, doc."

Ranma's voice. Clear. Deep. Strong.

Toshiko pushed the door open and stepped aside. Akane dropped Ryoga's hand and walked through the doorframe.

Ranma.

There he was, sitting on a flat bed that was pushed up against the window. He was in a clean white tank top, but the bandages wrapped around his shoulder were still clearly visible. His leg, in a cast, propped up on a pile of pillows. Daylight streamed through the window behind him.

Was she dreaming? Had she died in that cave after all, and now she was in heaven? 

Ranma held up one hand in greeting and grinned. "Yo, Akane!"

"Ran-Ranma--"

She stepped forward, reaching out. She wanted to run to him, to hold him, touch him, smell him---but she couldn't. There were others watching, and she didn't deserve him. So Akane stopped herself at the side of his bed and just looked at him.

His eyes were bright. The color was back in his face, although he looked thin. And he was smiling up at her.

He used to say she was cute when she smiled. But his smile? On another level altogether. 

"Are you okay?"

Akane blinked. "You're asking me?"

"Yeah. I know I'm fine."

"I--"

"Ranma! You're alive!" Ryoga was at Ranma's bedside now, crying.

Crying?

"Of course I am!" Ranma replied. "Are you really crying over me, pig-brain?"

Ryoga bonked him lightly on the head with one fist while crying into the elbow of his other arm. "Shut up, you cockroach!"

"Cockroach?" Ranma frowned. "That's a new one."

Akane fought the urge to smile and blinked back tears that were finally starting to return to her eyes.

"Ranma!! Akane!!!"

The yelling was coming from the hallway, followed by what sounded like a stampede. Only seconds later, a crowd of people burst into the room.

Dad. Nabiki. Kasumi. Tofu-sensei. Uncle and Auntie Saotome. Ukyo. Shampoo. Mousse. Cologne. Hiroshi. Daisuke. Yuka. Sayuri.

Somehow they had all managed to squeeze through the door at once and now stood packed into the small room like sardines.

Akane felt her father's arms around her, pulling her into his chest. He was crying heavily and wailing her name. "Akane! Akane! You're safe!"

"Mmm," was all she could reply. 

"How did you all get here?" Ranma asked, as his mother sat next to him on the bed and hugged him. He returned the hug without embarrassment and looked around at the crowd.

"We took the train, obviously," said Nabiki.

"Ryoga-kun called us and told us you had been hurt, so we came as fast as we could," said Kasumi.

"Eh, I'm fine," Ranma shrugged dismissively.

"You sure about that, bud?" Hiroshi gently slapped the foot of his cast.

"Yeeowch!" Ranma yelped in pain. 

Toshiko frowned, but the only one who noticed was Tofu.

"May I ask about his injuries?" He said to the other doctor. "Ranma usually is my patient."

The small crowd listened as Toshiko repeated what she had told Ryoga and Akane.

"Ranchan, that sounds horrible!" Ukyo said when Toshiko finished.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Ranma said.

"Really?" This time it was Daisuke who slapped his cast.

"Stop doing that!" Ranma yelled, grimacing in pain and clutching his leg.

Cologne laughed. "Of course it would take more than some musty old warlord to beat Ranma!"

 _Ranma_ , Akane noticed. _Not son-in-law._

"Yes, Ranma, I owe you my thanks," said Soun. He pushed past Nodoka and grasped the boy's hands in his and brought his face close to Ranma's, still sobbing. "You risked your life to save Akane."

Ranma raised one eyebrow. "But I lost."

The entire room blinked in unison. Not only did Ranma lose, he was admitting to losing?

"But I thought you said he won," Genma said to Ryoga.

" _I_ didn't win," Ranma said with emphasis. "Akane did."

"Akane?"

They all turned to stare at her in unison. She looked around at their shocked expressions and her heart began to race.

"Akane beat someone Ranma couldn't?" Mousse asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Shampoo always say Akane strong girl."

"Akane, that's so cool!" chimed in Sayuri. "How did you do it?"

"Well, I--" Akane stammered. It was getting hard to breathe. "I mean--I just did what I had to do."

"Ranchan, you really lost? For real?"

"I did," Ranma laughed. 

"She even did a _shi shi hokodan_!" said Ryoga with excitement.

"Really? I didn't know that," said Ranma. "Must've happened while I was passed out. "

They all started discussing how great Akane was for winning the fight, how amazing and strong she must be. Their voices started to blend together into a dull buzz in her ears. She made eye contact with Ranma and he smiled at her, his eyes so warm.

She realized then that he was proud of her. Ranma was proud of her for winning.

They all were.

The entire room was full of her friends and family who loved her, expressing their pride and admiration for what she had done.

She felt like she was going to suffocate.

She clutched her chest, her knees buckling under her.

"Akane? Are you okay?"

Yuka, one of her oldest friends, bent over, rubbing her back.

"I-- I'm just--"

"Akane-san, I think we need to run some more tests."

Toshiko had her by the arm, ushering her quickly and quietly out of the room, ignoring the concerns of her family. Before she knew it, Akane was sitting in a chair in Toshiko's office, a cup of tea in her hands.

"Breathe with me, Akane-san. In. Out. In. Out. Just focus on your breath. Nothing else."

Akane followed the instructions. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Slowly, her head started to clear. Her heart slowed down. She took a sip of tea.

"Okay, sensei, what tests do we need to do?"

Toshiko shook her head. "None. It just seemed to me you needed to get out of there."

"I'm sorry, I was being stupid. I need to go back--"

"No. Sit with me. Let's chat for a bit."

Akane hesitated, then nodded. "Okay."

"How have you been feeling lately, Akane-san?"

"Feeling?" No one had asked her that. They had all asked her what had happened, and she hadn't told them. But no one else had asked her how she was feeling.

_I'm sorry, Akane. I should have asked._

Ranma had apologized, but never had the chance to follow through. 

"Yes. I would like to hear."

Akane took a sip of tea, breaking eye contact. How to begin?

"I feel--awful."

Toshiko said nothing, simply kept her kind gaze trained on Akane.

"I feel awful," Akane repeated. "I can't focus on school. I have nightmares at night. Hardly anything makes me happy. My memory--it's like my brain is full of sticky rice. I can't remember things, or I remember them wrong. I can't trust anybody, I feel like everyone is lying to me. I can't talk about it to anyone, not Ranma, or Ryoga, or my friends or my sisters, or my dad, and I can see them all worrying about me, and I know they care, but I hate it when they worry, and if I talk to them, they'll worry more, but I can't trust it! What if they're only worrying about me because it's the right thing to do? What if they're all just pretending? I don't deserve it. I don't!"

She was crying freely, now. Taking deep breaths between her tears. It felt good to let it all out, to say it, to be heard.

Toshiko let her cry, and cry, until she only gave a few sniffles. She handed Akane a box of tissues.

"You know, Akane-san, I had a similar conversation with Saotome-kun and he expressed many of the same issues."

"Really?" asked Akane. "When?"

"When he woke up from surgery, before I let you in." Toshiko paused. "Akane-san, I want you to know, these feelings are not unusual. Trauma can cause problems with memory, paranoia, anxiety, depression. Nightmares. It seems like the both of you are experiencing all of these."

Akane nodded.

"And it seems to me both you and Saotome-kun experienced something traumatic even before coming here."

"Yeah," Akane whispered, clutching her cup of tea.

"However, you concern me a little more."

Great. Another thing Ranma was better than her at. "Why?"

"Saotome-kun told me that lately he has been able to express himself to his mother and his friends, like Hibiki-kun. That he feels comfortable talking to them about his problems."

"Mmm." _But not me_. 

"You mentioned your sisters? Your father? Do you feel comfortable talking to them?"

Akane shook her head. "You saw my dad, he cries like that over everything. Kasumi has done so much for us I couldn't make her worry like that. And Nabiki-- she's my sister and I love her, but she's not great at the whole comforting thing. "

"I see." Toshiko took a pad of paper and a pen from her desk and wrote something. She removed the top piece of paper and handed it to Akane. "Here."

"What's this?"

"My phone number. This town, and I, surely owe you decades worth of gratitude. But even if we didn't, I would still like for you to call me, whenever you need to talk."

Akane clutched the paper in her hands, staring at the number. "About what?"

"Anything at all. I mean that."

Akane nodded. "Okay."

She felt it again, deep in her chest. Hope.

"I'm glad to hear that," Toshiko smiled and took a sip of her own tea.

They both sat quietly for a few more minutes, drinking tea. Akane looked around the office, at the books on the shelves, the diplomas on the walls.

"Toshiko-sensei, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"You said you had a Jusenkyo curse?"

"Mm, after med school I went on a vacation to China and happened to fall in."

"Can I ask--which spring did you fall into?"

Toshiko smiled slyly over the rim of her cup. "Spring of Drowned Girl."

Akane knit her brows together in confusion. "But you--"

"Yes?"

Realization dawned. "Aah. I see."

"I prefer things this way," Toshiko said. She set her cup on her desk and poured more tea from the kettle. "The real curse is whenever I have to take a bath."


	19. Rest

When Akane finally stood to leave Toshiko's office, her legs gave out from exhaustion and she immediately fell back into her chair. Toshiko wouldn't let her go back to see Ranma no matter how much she pleaded. 

"You're exhausted. You need rest. Don't worry, he's all right."

Akane tried to repeat to herself as she was led back to the same room that had the shower. 

Ranma is all right. Ranma is alive.

The bed did look inviting. To go to sleep now, though, was so selfish--

_No, it's not._

Toshiko's voice in her head.

_You need rest._

Akane climbed between the clean white sheets and fell asleep instantly. 

* * *

When Akane awoke, everything was dark. Her bed was against a window like Ranma's had been. The sky outside was black.

She sat up groggily. Her muscles ached. How long had she been asleep?

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and slid her feet into a pair of hospital slippers. It was the middle of the night, but she had to see Ranma.

She opened the door to her room and peeked out. No one was around and the only sounds were the fuzzy hum of fluorescent lights. She made her way, stepping softly, down the hall to Ranma's room.

Akane cracked open the door and stuck her head through. 

Ranma was awake.

He was sitting straight up in bed, same as when she last saw him, although this time he was bathed in moonlight. He immediately looked over at the click of the door opening. 

"Akane."

"Hi." She stepped into the room. "Can I come in?"

"You're already in, ain't ya?" he replied, but pulled a nearby chair over to his bedside. "Come on."

Nervously, she padded over to him and sat down.

"Where is everybody?"

"Mom and Pop are in the next room. Everybody else went to stay at some inn down the road."

"Oh. That's good."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well, actually," she admitted. "I was really tired. "

"I should say so, you've been out for fourteen hours."

"What? No way."

Ranma laughed. "It's true! It's four in the morning, Akane."

She tensed at the sound of her name. He had said it so kindly, so easily.

"Well, I hope," she swallowed. "I hope everybody didn't worry about me."

"Of course they did," said Ranma. "Your dad kept hollering to see ya but Toshiko-sensei talked him down. Told him you need your rest. She can be pretty convincing."

"Yeah," Akane smiled. "She can be."

"Akane?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

She looked up at him, when she had been staring down at her hands in her lap. He was serious, concerned. 

"Yes." A li--

He flicked her on the forehead with his forefinger.

"You're a bad liar, you know that, Akane?"

Stunned, she rubbed the spot on her head where he had connected, even though it didn't hurt. A familiar flame of anger and annoyance ignited in her belly. "What was that for?!"

"I want the truth," he said. "Are you okay?"

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

"No," she dropped her voice to a whisper. "I thought you died, Ranma."

"Understandable." He nodded. "I thought I was gonna die too."

"Does it--are you in a lot of pain?"

"Oh yeah, it hurts like hell," he said flippantly. "But I've had worse."

"Really?"

"Aah . . . no," he laughed. "But they gave me the good painkillers this time."

She smiled and looked down, sniffling. "I really thought you were dead, Ranma."

"I get it, Akane. Really. In Jusendo, I thought you were dead. That I lost you. So trust me, I understand how you feel."

He took her hands in his, carefully cradling her fingers, running his thumbs over the bandages. She kept her breathing steady as she met his gaze. He wasn't smiling. 

"You do understand, don't you?"

"I do."

"Ranma I--" Oh here it comes. What she wanted to say. What she needed to say.

"Ranma, I'm sorry!"

He tilted his head to the side. "For what?"

"For everything! Just you being here is all my fault and I'm sorry you got hurt. I'm sorry for what happened in the dojo! I should have listened to you and believed you. I'm sorry for all the times I didn't listen and jumped to conclusions! And I'm sorry for hitting you with a table!"

"Which time?"

"The first time!" She burst into tears. "The first day we met!"

"Ahm. Well." He tilted his head back and forth, cracking his neck. He rolled his shoulders down and tried not to squirm away. "It's okay. You don't need to apologize."

"Yes, I do!"

He paused and bit his bottom lip, staring at her face. "Okay. I'll accept your apology. On one condition."

"What--what is it?"

"You can't apologize for any of that stuff ever again."

"What?"

"I'm not saying you can't apologize ever again in the future," he said. "But it's gotta be for new stuff. Not for anything that happened before right now."

"But I--"

"Promise me, Akane."

She stopped crying, closed her mouth, nodded. "I promise."

She was in real trouble, and she could never tell him, but all he would ever have to say to her from now on would be "promise me, Akane" and she would do whatever he wanted.

"Good," he said, squeezing her hands. "Now, do you wanna tell me what happened? How you beat that guy?"

"Oh Ranma, it's--" She frowned. "It's not a good story."

"I doubt that."

She really wanted to tell him. He really wanted to know.

"Ranma, it's just, I had to do something terrible--"

"You killed him, right?"

"Y--yeah."

"Of course you did. You had to."

"Did I have to?"

"He woulda killed you. You thought he killed me. He already killed a bunch of people. He would have killed more. So, yeah, you had to."

Akane shook her head. "I hate that I did it."

"That's because you're a good person, Akane," said Ranma. "Better than me."

"That's not true, Ranma. You did all this, just for me. Even after I--even after I was so stupid!"

"And I'd do it again," asserted Ranma. "So who's really the stupid one?"

"Ranma," she whispered, smiling and shaking her head. She wanted to laugh at how casually he said it, but she couldn't let the laughter come. She wasn't ready for it yet. "I just can't tell you. Not yet. But someday. I promise."

"All right, I'll hold you to it." He gave her that cocky, lopsided grin that she cherished, that she had feared she would never see again. "But can I ask just one question?"

"What is it?"

"Did you really perform a _shi shi hokodan_?"

She smiled. "Twice."

"No way!"

"It's true!"

He stared at her in amazement. "I didn't know you knew how to do that."

"I didn't either, until I did."

"Pretty cool," he sighed. "Although it does bum me out a little you used Ryoga's move and not mine."

"Well," she said, a smile playing at the edge of her lips. "I'll tell you one other thing."

"What?" he asked excitedly.

"Another move I used twice was the Anything Goes Secret Ultimate Technique."

"Aah! I love that one! And he fell for it?"

"Yep. Both times."

"Nice." Ranma smiled widely, then lifted her hands up. He bent his head forward and gently touched her bandaged knuckles to his lips, just like he had done in the field of wildflowers. "You did good, Akane."

Her heart. She could feel it in her chest. The chains around it were cracking, link by link.

"Ranma--"

She didn't know what to say.

He shifted both of her hands into one of his.

_They both fit! His hands are so big!_

Then he reached up with his free hand and cupped it around the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair and pulling her close.

_Oh no not here not yet I'm not ready--_

But Ranma just tilted his head down and rested his forehead against hers. He looked deep into her eyes and stroked her hair with small movements. 

"You did really good."

She looked at him shyly through her bangs and blushed. Closing her eyes, she whispered, "Thanks."

His fingers kept moving through her hair, and it felt so soothing. When his fingertips met her neckline and touched her bare skin, he gasped.

"Akane! You're freezing!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I've been cold a lot lately." Ever since her body had stopped burning in China, she couldn't get warm.

Without another word, he threw back his covers. Grabbing hold of her upper arms, he lifted her up into his lap, her slippers falling off her feet with a clatter. Even broken and wounded and just returned from the brink of death, Ranma possessed such an easy strength that there was no hesitation or struggle in the movement. 

He pulled the sheets up over them and wrapped an extra blanket from the foot of the bed around the both of them for good measure.

Akane was surprised, but grateful. She pulled her legs up and sat sideways to avoid having her feet bump against Ranma's cast. She clutched at his shirt and pressed her ear against his chest, squeezing her eyes shut tight.

She could hear it.

His heartbeat.

Strong. Steady. Real.

She held onto him and mumbled into his chest, "I'm never going to let anyone hurt you ever again."

He pulled the blanket around them tighter and hugged her whole body in his arms. 

"That's my line, dummy," he whispered.

* * *

Nodoka woke up a little after sunrise. The hospital had let them stay in the room next to Ranma's, and luckily there were two beds. She had expected Genma to protest staying in the hospital, perhaps beg off to go drink with Soun at the inn, but he had agreed with an uncharacteristic calm. Perhaps hearing about the extent of Ranma's injuries had spooked him as much as it did her.

And poor Akane. What a brave and strong young woman. Nodoka had used to be concerned with how tomboyish Akane could be, but after learning how kind and passionate the girl was, the tenacity she possessed, Nodoka knew Akane was a good match for her son. She was eager to call Akane her daughter-in-law.

And now she owed Akane for her son's life. A favor she could never repay.

She left the room without waking her husband and went to the room next door to check on Ranma. He was asleep, in his typical wild pose, his covers thrown aside, one arm stretched above his head. The only difference from his normal sleeping style was the giant cast on his leg and the fact that Akane was curled up on top of his chest, sleeping, while he had his arm around her.

Nodoka smiled. 

"Nodoka?" 

Genma was standing behind her in the doorway.

"How's Ranma?"

She held a finger to her lips and whispered, "Still sleeping."

Genma moved closer to her and looked over at the bed. "Aah. I see. Well, this is a good sign. I suppose he's a normal boy after all."

"He always was," Nodoka said wistfully.

"I can't wait to tell Tendo-kun--"

"Don't you dare!" she hissed and pinched his bicep. 

He pouted. "But--"

"No! These children deserve some peace."

"Fine," he grumbled, rubbing his arm.

"Glad you agree." She walked over to the bed and carefully pulled out the blankets and let them re-settle over Ranma and Akane so they were properly covered. Akane let out a dreamy sigh in her sleep and snuggled her face into Ranma's chest. Ranma started snoring.

Nodoka smiled and turned to her husband. "How about we go for a walk, dear?"

"Well--" Genma cast a look at the bed. "As long as Ranma is all right. "

"I think he'll be fine," said Nodoka, linking arms with her husband. "Probably the best he's been in a while."


	20. Take It Easy

When Akane woke up, she was warm.

It took her a moment to realize where she was, what the sound echoing through her head could be.

Ranma's heartbeat.

She turned her head to look up at him. From the angle she was at she could only really see his jawline, the curve of his neck, the back of his ear.The morning sun coming through the window cast a golden glow over his skin. She blushed and scrunched her fingers up on his chest.

The weight of the blankets over them felt good. And Ranma's arm around her felt secure, safe.

 _I could wake up like this every day_.

She didn't want to move. Didn't want to disturb him. She rubbed her toes together under the blanket. How long could Ranma sleep? He had been up late, after all.

She watched him breathe. Felt his chest go up and down.

Ranma was alive. Ranma was safe. Ranma was here.

Akane's stomach growled. Hungry, again?

_Well I did sleep for fourteen hours. Plus however long we've been asleep this time._

Her stomach growled again. This time the noise was so loud it caused Ranma to stir.

_How embarrassing!_

He rolled his head over and opened one eye. He blinked in surprise before offering a sleepy smile. "Morning, Akane."

"Good morning." She was really blushing now.

Stretching one arm above his head, he yawned, opening his mouth wide like a cat. He still hadn't sat up or let go of her.

"You sleep okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

He smiled and looked ready to fall asleep again when her stomach growled one more time.

"Hungry, huh?" A teasing grin crossed his face.

"Not really."

"Don't lie." There was an edge to his voice that cut right through her.

"I mean, yeah. I guess I'm a little hungry."

"Well, we should get you something to eat." He sat up, and Akane sat with him. His hand lingered on the small of her back and she found the sustained contact thrilling. 

Ranma bent over the side of the bed and began rummaging for something.

"They gave me a button to call the nurse--"

"No, Ranma, we don't have to do that, I'll just go to the vending machine--"

"Don't be ridiculous, they have to feed us--"

"Good morning!"

Toshiko and a nurse opened the door to Ranma's room, each pushing a wheeled table with a tray of food.

"Eep!" Akane yelped in embarrassment and immediately jumped over Ranma, off the bed, and into the nearby chair. Ranma grunted as her knee accidentally pushed into his stomach.

"Akane-san, since you weren't in your room, I'm glad to find you in here."

"Sorry, I--mmph!" The nurse shoved a thermometer in Akane's mouth and pushed up her sleeve to attach a blood pressure cuff.

"You too, Saotome-kun," Toshiko said as she sat on the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Not half bad," replied Ranma, grinning.

"I imagine so," Toshiko said knowingly. 

Akane flushed bright red and the thermometer in her mouth beeped loudly. The nurse took it out to look at the result and frowned. "It's a little high."

Toshiko laughed. "Well, perhaps we'll try again later." 

She looked down at the dial attached to Ranma's blood pressure cuff. "Not half bad, indeed. I'm glad you're recovering quickly, Saotome-kun."

Ranma winked and gave her a thumbs up as she removed the thermometer from his mouth. "It's what I do."

Toshiko laughed again. "Well what you should do right now--both of you--is eat. And then afterwards we'll let your families come in to see you."

"They're here?" Akane asked.

"Oh yes. They are being quite persistent, I must say. But don't worry, I'll hold them off. Now eat!"

* * *

"Are you sure they're all right?"

"Yes, yes, they're fine! They're eating breakfast and then we'll change their bandages and then you can go in to see them, I promise."

Ryoga watched as Akane's father sobbed and begged Toshiko to change her mind, but the doctor remained firm.

Everyone was crowded in the waiting room. Mild arguments had broken out, been resolved, and started again multiple times. 

Ryoga leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. He had stayed behind after everyone else had gone to the inn and talked with Ranma. Ranma had told him what happened after they had split up, at least all the parts he knew before he had passed out.

_"So you don't know how Akane beat that guy?"_

_"No, she wouldn't tell me."_

_"Did she really do a shi shi hokodan?"_

_"Sure looked like it."_

Nabiki plopped herself down in the chair next to Ryoga and let out a big sigh. "Ah, waiting like this is so boring."

"Mm," Ryoga grunted. He never knew how to handle Nabiki.

"Where's your girlfriend, Ryoga-kun?"

"Akari? She's at her home, I suppose."

"You didn't call her to tell her you were here?"

"I'm not injured."

"Still, when was the last time you talked to her?"

"I--" Ryoga thought about it. "I don't remember. "

"Boys are so stupid," Nabiki lamented. "You should still call her."

"But I'm fine."

Nabiki rolled her eyes. Then a sly smile flashed across her face. "Perhaps you don't want her to be here because she'll see you're still in love with Akane!"

"I'm not!" The answer came immediately, forcefully.

"Oh? Are you in love with Ranma-kun then?"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"You just seem to be rather close to both of them, that's all."

"Not everything is about being in love," Ryoga growled. "They're my friends."

"Just friends?"

Ryoga hesitated. Took in a deep breath. "No. More than friends."

"I knew it--"

"My family."

Nabiki paused. She slumped back in her seat. "Well, teasing you is no fun if you're going to be serious like that."

Ryoga didn't reply.

She sighed. "Listen, I have to leave to catch the train in a little over an hour. Most of us are leaving then, and you should come too."

"But I--"

"And before I go on back to university, I'll make sure we stop by Akari's house so you don't get lost."

Ryoga shifted his weight back and forth in his seat. "Maybe you're right."

“Of course, it will cost three thousand yen.”

“Of course.”

Nodoka and Genma entered through the front door of the clinic, both a little red faced. The collar of Nodoka's kimono was slightly askew and there were leaves in her hair.

"And where were you two?" asked Nabiki.

"We went for a walk," replied Nodoka, blushing. "It was quite nice, wasn't it dear?"

"Oh yes!" Genma replied, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing like an idiot.

Nabiki wrinkled her nose. "Gross."

"Everyone?" 

Toshiko, standing in the front of the waiting room. She smiled.

"They're ready to see you."

* * *

"Akane you slept for so long--"

"I wish I had time for a nap like that--"

"But we were so worried, weren't we, Sayuri?"

"Oh, yes, of course--"

"I'm sorry to worry you guys," Akane said, smiling at her friends over the tops of her father's arms. He had burst into the room and grabbed her and hadn't let go. "But I'm feeling much better."

"And you, Ranma-kun? How are you feeling?" Kasumi asked.

"Not half bad," Ranma replied. His mother, sitting next to him, smiled.

Akane hid her blushing face in the bend of her father's elbow.

"Glad to hear that, Ranchan!" 

"When will we be able to take Ranma home?" Tofu asked Toshiko.

"Oh, not long. At the rate he's going, I would say four weeks."

"FOUR WEEKS?!"

Toshiko winced at the chorus of voices blaring at her. "Yes? The damage to his leg is quite severe. He is going to need physical therapy, perhaps a second surgery. And his shoulder wound is also very deep. While it appears fine right now, there is a high risk of infection, possibly leading to sepsis."

"Very well, then, sensei," said Nodoka. "Then I hope you don't mind if my husband and I continue to impose on you for these next few weeks?"

"Of course not, you're more than welcome."

"Four weeks, though?" Genma moaned. He placed a hand on the foot of his son's cast and wiggled it back and forth as he talked, causing Ranma to let out a little yelp of pain with each movement. "One night was bad enough. Ranma will be fine on his own."

Ranma threw his metal food tray at his father's head, hitting him squarely on the temple with a clang. "Stop doing that!"

"We're staying," Nodoka asserted. "And that's that."

"Fine," Genma whined, rubbing his temple.

"I'd like to stay as well," Tofu said. "I'd like to work with his therapists and doctors. I know Ranma and his medical history pretty well. And maybe I'll learn something myself.

"I'll stay with you, " Kasumi said, taking his hand and squeezing.

"I'll stay too," piped up Akane, still in her father's grasp.

"Absolutely not!" Soun yelled. "You're coming home with me."

"He's right, Akane-chan," said Kasumi. "That's way too much school to miss."

"But Ranma--"

"I'll be fine," Ranma said. He looked over at her and grinned. "You should go home, Akane."

How could she ever deny him anything? The old urge to contradict him just for the sake of it had faded away a long time ago. 

"All right," she said meekly.

“Aiya! We need to leave for train!” Shampoo grabbed Mousse by the arm. 

“Oh yes, the restaurant is waiting!” said Cologne. “Hopefully we can make it back in time for the dinner rush.”

“Same for me,” said Ukyo. “You gonna be okay, Ranchan?”

“Sure thing, Ucchan.”

Akane remembered that she should have felt jealous at the way the smiled at each other, but--

_I love you Akane. I’ve always loved you._

“We gotta go too, man,” said Hiroshi. 

“And us,” said Yuka. 

“And me,” said Ryoga.

“What, really? Everyone’s leaving all at once, huh?” asked Ranma. 

“Have to catch a train,” Nabiki said. 

Then they were all saying goodbyes. Akane stepped back and watched everyone hugging Ranma. And then, somehow, everyone was finished and looking at her. It was her turn to say goodbye. 

“I, uh--” She fiddled with the drawstrings of her pants. Trembling, she raised one hand in a small wave. “Take it easy, Ranma.”

He laughed, but it was kind and non-mocking. “Take it easy, Akane.”

Kasumi gave her a hug, then, soft, tender, not like her father’s desperate hold.

“Don’t worry, Akane-chan,” her sister whispered. “We’ll take care of him.”

Akane returned Kasumi’s hug, tighter than she had expected to, trying to hold back her tears. “Thank you.”

“Come on, let’s goooo!” said Nabiki, pulling Akane away. 

“One more thing,” said Akane, shaking Nabiki’s hand off. Akane turned to Toshiko and flung her arms around her. “Thank you, sensei! So much!”

Toshiko, a bit flustered, gently patted Akane on the back. “Of course, Akane-san. And remember what I told you.”

“Mm!” Akane pulled back and smiled. “I will call when I need to. I promise.”

“I hope you do.”

“All right, are you ready now?” asked Nabiki.

Akane turned to her sister. 

“Yeah. I am.”


	21. The Noise at Home

She couldn’t remember her home ever being this quiet. 

With the Saotomes, Kasumi, and Tofu in Chihayama with Ranma, and Ryoga at Akari’s house, and Nabiki away at university, it was just Akane and Soun left at home. 

She went to school. Tried to act normal. Would go home and work out her stress alone in the dojo. The wounds on her hands healed quickly. She hated the gross scabby stage, but was grateful for the new pink skin they left behind after falling off. She spent most of her time alone. Her father would make half hearted attempts at conversation, but it was only ever awkward small talk. Worse yet, he insisted on ordering takeout every night for dinner.

“Dad, I can cook for us!”

“Don’t be silly, Akane! I have a real craving for pizza!”

or

“I have a craving for kimchi!”

or

“I have a craving for sushi!”

Everyday.

After a week, she just stopped offering and let him order whatever he wanted. 

The first Saturday, she decided to do a deep clean of the house while everyone was gone. Washing windows, scrubbing down walls. Going through old storage. She may not have been a great cook, but she could at least keep the house clean. The meticulous routine of it soothed her nerves. 

Late in the afternoon, she opened the front gates and started sweeping down the walkway when she heard the familiar chime of a bicycle bell. 

Shampoo stopped in front of her, tilting to one side and putting one foot on the ground. 

“Shampoo? What are you doing here?”

“Shampoo hear this house order takeout every night,” she replied. Shampoo lifted the takeout container off the back of her bicycle and spun it around on one finger like a basketball. “But why no order from Nekohanten? Is best ramen in town.”

“Well, I, uh--” Akane clutched the broom handle defensively. “You have tried to poison me. Multiple times.”

“Past is past,” Shampoo said dismissively, waving one of her hands. “If Shampoo really want Akane dead, would be dead long time ago.”

“I guess,” Akane frowned. 

“Besides how many times Shampoo save Akane life by now? Too too many. Now, eat ramen with father and tell Shampoo how good it is.”

“I--”

“Howdy!”

Ukyo had jumped over the front wall, a portable griddle strapped to her back. 

“Ukyo--?”

“How ya doing? Ah, Shampoo, I guess you had the same idea as me, huh?”

“Idea?” asked Akane.

“Well, I heard you and your dad were eating a lot of takeout, but you weren’t getting any from me. So I thought I would come cook you dinner.”

“That better idea. Shampoo cook too.” Shampoo took the takeout container and dropkicked it. The three girls watched as it sailed into the sky and disappeared. 

“Changed your mind quick, huh?” said Ukyo.

“Shampoo much better cook. Can no let Akane eat your food. Might get sick.”

“What was that?!”

“You hear me!”

Ukyo and Shampoo faced off, both of them clenching their fists at their sides. 

Akane looked back and forth between them worriedly. Putting her hands up placatingly, she said, “Guys, you know Ranma’s not even here to impress--”

“WHO CARES ABOUT RANMA?!” They both shouted at her in unison.

“This about honor!” said Shampoo, pointing upward.

“This is about skill!” said Ukyo, waving a spatula assertively. 

“Let’s settle this for real in kitchen!”

“You’re on!”

The two ran inside the house, leaving a very confused Akane behind. She put one hand on her hip and leaned on the broom, pulling her lips together in a tight line. Did Kasumi ever feel like this? 

Sighing, she leaned the broom up against the gate and followed the other two inside. 

* * *

The kitchen was a whirlwind of activity. All four burners on the stove were alight, various pots and pans sizzling and bubbling. The griddle Ukyo had brought was set up on the counter, hissing with heat. Ukyo and Shampoo were trying to work around each other, but also occasionally elbowing or attempting to trip the other "on accident."

Akane watched from the doorway, shuffling her feet. The other two girls had always been competitive, but did they really not consider Ranma a factor at all?

"Can I help?"

Ukyo and Shampoo both froze in place and looked over at her.

"We got it, Akane-chan. Why don't you go sit down and watch television?"

"But I really want to--"

"No need," huffed Shampoo. "Shampoo make delicious meal all by self."

"Not better than mine--"

"We see about that--"

"Wait!" Akane cried, stopping them from devolving into a physical fight. "Do you guys really not care about Ranma anymore?"

Ukyo and Shampoo gave each other a look.

"Did he not tell you?" Ukyo asked.

"Tell me what?"

"Ugh, he didn't tell you!" Ukyo groaned. "I told him to tell you."

"Aiya, Ranma so stupid," sighed Shampoo.

"Tell me what?!" Akane repeated.

"Well," Ukyo said, setting down her spatula. "That he loves you."

Akane stared at the other girl in shock. Neither Ukyo or Shampoo looked angry or jealous. What had happened?

Akane blushed. "I mean, he, I mean, well--he sorta--I mean he did--"

"Then what issue?" Shampoo shrugged and flipped the vegetables in the pan she was holding.

"I mean--you guys don't care? You're not mad?"

"Why would I be?" Ukyo smiled proudly. "I have a boyfriend!"

"You do? Who?"

"Hayato! My baby!" Ukyo reached into her bra and pulled out a wallet sized object that unfolded as she held it up to reveal a strip of pictures. Most of them were of Hayato in various poses, cooking, or in swim trunks. A few were of Ukyo and Hayato together, embracing happily.

"I see," said Akane. "And Shampoo? You have a boyfriend too?"

"Hmmph," the other girl snorted. "Ranma almost lose fight to duck. No more interest from Shampoo. No need boyfriend."

"Oh?" said Ukyo slyly. "But didn't I see you leaving the dessert cafe with Mousse last night? And then heading to the movie theater?"

"It no date!" Shampoo responded furiously. She blushed and forcefully pushed around the vegetables in the pan with a pair of tongs. "Just have fun. With friend. Maybe kiss a little."

"Aah, I knew it!" teased Ukyo. "Is Mousse a good kisser?"

The blush on Shampoo's face faded a little and a smile of satisfaction crossed her lips. "Real good."

Ukyo laughed and turned back to Akane. "See, Akane-chan? This is purely a woman to woman battle of honor."

Akane looked down at the floor. Something still bothered her. "Ukyo, you said--you said you told him to tell me--"

"Oh, yeah," Ukyo said, flipping over an okonomiyaki on the griddle. "For months he kept going around town saying 'I love Akane, I love Akane.'"

"It honestly real annoying," mumbled Shampoo.

"And I told him he should probably tell you first, and he acted like the idea had never even occurred to him," Ukyo sighed. "Men."

Akane put her hands over her heart. Is this what Ranma and Ryoga had been up to? She wished she had known. Maybe then she would have--

"But it's all solved now," Ukyo continued. "You two are together, you'll get married, have a lot of egotistical babies with anger problems, and we'll all live happily ever after."

"But we're not--we didn't--" Akane stammered.

Ukyo set down her spatula and looked at her curiously.

"Aah!" She hit her closed fist in her palm in realization. "Akane-chan, did you not tell Ranma that you love him?"

"I--" Akane's face turned bright red and she pulled the top of her apron over her head to hide it.

"Aiya, Akane so stupid," Shampoo sighed.

Ukyo gently pulled Akane's apron back down and held her by the shoulders. "Akane-chan? Have you not told him how you feel?"

"I just--I mean-- there hasn't been an opportunity--not that I--I mean not that I don't not--"

"Calm down, Akane-chan. Breathe."

Akane focused on Ukyo’s face. Smiling. Calm. She breathed. In. Out.

“See? It’s all right. If you can’t tell Ranma yet, that’s your business. Now, go rest in the living room--”

“But I--” Akane took a deep breath. “But I really wanna learn how to cook something for Ranma! For when he gets home.”

“Oh,” said Ukyo. She looked back over her shoulder at Shampoo. “Truce?”

Shampoo looked at Akane, then back at Ukyo. “Truce. For now.”

“All right, Akane-chan. Let’s get to work.”

* * *

Cooking was hard. 

Akane had spent her whole life practicing martial arts. In the past few months, she had honed her skill, exercising precise control over every movement her body made. Fighting past her natural urge to overextend or not pay attention to where her hits landed. Her body had become an efficient machine that did whatever she told it to do, without hesitation.

Except make a fucking stir fry. 

First she chopped the vegetables into pieces that were too big. She cursed herself, because she had already learned that from Ranma’s mother. Then she added them in the wrong order to the wok, with Shampoo explaining that different types of food cooked at different rates so you had to cook them in order so they would all be soft at the same time. And then she had tried to season the vegetables while stirring them, but went too fast and too hard and spilled half of them out, some catching on fire in the pilot light of the stove. 

Ukyo then tried to have her put together a salad. All Akane had to do was just tear apart the lettuce, not even cut it, then cut the tomatoes into wedges. She managed to do it, even if the wedges were a little uneven. She added dressing and brought it out to the table proudly. 

Ukyo and Shampoo brought out bowls and platters full of other food, a large, traditional meal. They did not serve her botched stir fry, which was for the best. 

Soun joined them at the table, eager for a home cooked meal. 

“This looks great! Ukyo, Shampoo, thank you so much for cooking for our family!” said Soun as he took a seat. 

“Akane-chan helped,” said Ukyo.

“Oh, really?” His hand holding his chopsticks hesitated at picking up a piece of fish. 

“Only salad,” said Shampoo.

“Oh is that so?” Soun laughed nervously. “Well, I’m sure it’s good.”

“It is, Dad!” said Akane. “Try it!”

Soun looked over at the salad bowl, sweat beading on his forehead. Just lettuce and tomatoes. They looked all right. He reached over and used the salad tongs to put a small amount on his plate. Slowly, he brought a piece of tomato to his mouth and bit down. 

He immediately spit it back out. “Ahahaha, I think I remembered I have an allergy to tomatoes--”

“What, is it bad?” Ukyo asked. She reached over and grabbed a tomato with her fingers and popped it in her mouth. Biting down, she grimaced, but somehow managed to swallow. “Akane-chan, what did you put on the salad?”

“Just salad dressing,” said Akane. “Right from the bottle.”

“What kind of salad dressing?”

“I’ll show you,” Akane said. She stood and ran to the kitchen, grabbing the bottle she had used. She ran back to the living room and displayed it to Ukyo. “Just this. See?”

Ukyo looked at the label. “This is apple cider vinegar.”

“That’s what people put on salads, right? Vinegar?”

“Vinaigrette, Akane-chan. It’s a special kind of dressing you add stuff too. You can’t put plain apple cider vinegar on a salad.”

“Oh.” Akane looked at the bottle, then shrugged and set it on the table. She took a seat and forced a smile on her face. “My mistake. At least we have plenty else to eat!”

“You’re not upset?” Her father asked.

“Can’t change things now,” she shrugged. “Come on, Dad, dig in!”

Ukyo and Shampoo shared another look between themselves. Ukyo raised one eyebrow. Shampoo nodded. They agreed. 

Something was wrong with Akane.

* * *

After dinner, Akane opened the sliding doors to the yard and took a seat on the deck, letting her legs dangle. The toes of her bare feet could only just barely touch the top of one of the flat stepping stones on the ground. It was well into summer, and the night air was hot and a little muggy. Akane relished the warmth, though, letting it envelop her as she looked up at the sky and concentrated on her breath.

Her father had eaten his fill of dinner, stuffing himself so full he decided to go to bed early. Once Ukyo and Shampoo left, her house would be quiet again.

"Here."

Ukyo sat next to Akane and handed her a cup of tea.

"Maybe it's a little warm out for tea, but that doctor kept giving it to us to drink when we were waiting. Said it's just comforting to hold the cup, sometimes."

Akane smiled at the memory of Toshiko and her obsession with tea. "Thanks."

Shampoo took a seat on the other side of Akane, keeping her legs pulled up on the wooden deck. "It special Joketsuzoku blend. Good for heart."

Akane looked at her with wide eyes.

"Not poison," sighed Shampoo with exasperation. She grabbed the cup from Akane and took a big gulp before handing it back. “See?”

“Y-yeah.” Akane looked down at the now half empty cup. “Thanks.”

“So, Akane-chan,” Ukyo said. “Let’s talk.”

“Talk? About what?”

“Whatever you want.”

“I don’t--I don’t want to talk about anything.”

“We can do that too.”

The three girls sat there in silence for several minutes. Akane’s house was quiet again. She took a sip of tea. 

“Why Akane act so weird?”

Akane choked a little on her tea. “What?”

“Shampoo!” Ukyo hissed.

“What? Shampoo want talk. No talk is no good.”

“But you can’t just ask--”

“It’s all right,” said Akane. “I have been weird, huh?”

“Well--”

“You wanna know the truth?” Akane felt a heat in her belly. These were the last two people in the world she ever wanted to have a heart to heart conversation with. But they had come to her house, cooked dinner, and were worried about her. Everything kept changing as she hurtled forward through space and time and she was tired of being patient with it. 

“Here’s the truth. Something terrible happened to me in China. And I did something terrible up in the mountains. And I thought Ranma was dead, really dead! And then he’s all right after all, after I did the terrible thing. And everyone is worried about me! Because he’s such a risk-taking idiot stuff like this happens to him all the time, and he’s fine! But everyone is concerned about me and I hate it! And I thought, maybe when I got home, I could calm down. But my dad hardly talks to me and I can’t even cook us dinner, and I really, really wanted to learn from you two. And then I messed up a salad and I feel like I’m not any good at anything! And I’m acting weird, and mean, and angry, and everybody is just so worried about me! And I don’t deserve it!”

She was crying heavily now, tears falling into her tea. Her shoulders shook with her sobs as she clutched the cup between her hands so tightly she worried she would break it. 

Ukyo, carefully, moved closer and slid one arm behind Akane’s back and another around her front, on top of her arms. She leaned her head against Akane’s shoulder. She sat like this for a moment before saying, “You know, Akane-chan. It’s actually good to see you get angry about something again.”

Akane, despite herself, let out a laugh through her tears. “Why are you guys being so nice to me?”

Shampoo, who had been sitting with her arms crossed, now softened completely. She, too, wrapped her arms around Akane’s shoulders, so the three girls were all pressed against each other. 

Trying to hold back her own tears, she whispered, “Because we friends, Akane.”

Somewhere in the night, a stray cat let out a howl at the sight of the moon.

* * *

Soun stepped into the restroom after dinner and when he exited, he decided to peek back into the kitchen and see if Shampoo or Ukyo had prepared any dessert he could snag a piece of. When he reached the living room, he paused upon seeing the three girls sitting on the deck quietly. Then Shampoo said something, and Akane was yelling and crying, and he listened. And he watched as first Ukyo, then Shampoo, took his daughter in their arms and comforted her with words he couldn’t hear them say. 

They held each other for awhile, arms crisscrossed behind each other’s backs. Their conversation eventually turned to giggles and teasing, stories and songs.

He decided to not look for dessert and just went straight to bed after all.

* * *

On Sunday morning, Akane awoke in a sweat. She at first assumed it was because she had been having nightmares, like she usually did, but as she lay in bed, she couldn’t recall any specific images from her hazy dream memory. She turned over, throwing off her blanket, and then realized the air conditioning was off, mostly likely broken. Her father had installed the system himself when she was a kid, and it always tended to go out sometime in July, just when they needed it the most. 

Grumbling, she stood up from her bed and stretched. She was used to her muscles being sore at this point, no matter how much stretching she did. Today was no different. She touched her face. Her skin always felt smooth and clear after a good cry. She dressed, sports bra, tank top, jean shorts. If it was already this hot in the morning, it would be way too hot the rest of the day to wear anything else. 

She walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Lifting up the curtain in the doorway, she took a look around the room and sighed deeply. Ukyo and Shampoo had departed without cleaning a single thing, leaving behind a huge mess.

Oh well. At least this was something she could handle.

It didn't take her very long to get the kitchen in a somewhat acceptable state. When she finished, she thought it might be a good idea to finally clean behind the refrigerator. She pulled a barrette out of her pocket and clipped her bangs off of her sweaty forehead. As she leaned in to grab the sides of the refrigerator, Soun walked into the room.

"Akane? What are you doing?"

"Just doing some cleaning, Dad."

"Well, why don't you take a break and play a game of shogi with me?"

"Shogi? Dad, you know I'm no good at it--"

"Please, Akane? Without Saotome-kun around, your old man is feeling a bit lonely."

She frowned. Maybe her dad had gotten as fond of all the typical commotion as she was. It was probably hard on him with his best friend and two of his three daughters gone.

She wiped her hands on the front of her shorts. "All right. Let's play."

* * *

They set up the board on the deck, opening doors to the koi pond, hopefully allowing in any breeze that happened to pass by. She took a seat across from her father, keeping a tall glass of ice water nearby. 

A koi jumped up from the pond and fell. back down with a splash. Akane smiled. They were probably happy to not be having anyone tossed into their living quarters every ten minutes. 

She set the pieces up on her side of the board, each making a small clack. She had never had the patience for shogi. It involved too many moving parts, too much finesse. She always preferred more physical games. Something she could punch her way through. 

Soun threw _furigoma_ and studied the pieces that landed. "Looks like you go first, Akane."

"Fine." She really had idea what she was doing. She moved a pawn forward one space.

"Ah." Soun mirrored her move on his own side of the board.

They continued like this for a few turns, Akane moving her pieces essentially at random, with her father echoing the movement in reverse. The fifth time it happened, Akane snapped.

"What are you doing, Dad? I thought you wanted to play for real!"

She was surprised to see only gentle amusement in his eyes. "But I am."

"Look, I know I'm not any good--"

"I'm very proud of you, Akane."

"Wh--what?" Her heart beat in her throat. She brought a hand up over her chest instinctively. 

"I should tell you that more often."

"Dad, you say stuff like that all the time."

"No," he shook his head. "I say that I'll miss you, or that I'll worry about you, or that you're tearing my heart out. But not that I'm proud."

Akane didn't reply. Just looked down at the shogi board.

"Let me tell you something, Akane. When I first got called to the hospital, I was convinced I owed Ranma a debt for saving your life once again. But after he so openly admitted to losing, I realized you were able to handle yourself. Strong, the way I raised you."

Akane bent her head, still not responding.

"You don't have to marry Ranma, if you don't want to."

Akane finally looked up. "But Dad--"

He held up his hands, palms out. "It's not necessary. I think you're strong enough to carry on the dojo all by yourself."

She wiped tears from the bottom of her eyes. "Thanks, Dad."

"Of course. Just tell me what you want, and I'll respect your wishes." Soun took a long look at his youngest daughter. "What is it you want, Akane?"

She stared down at the shogi board. With a trembling hand, she picked up a rook and moved it forward. "I don't know."

Soun picked up a piece of his own, although this time he didn't copy her move. "Very well. But I hope you'll tell me when you figure it out."

She looked at her father. He was crying too, but that was typical for him. But he wasn't wailing loudly, just had silent streams of tears rolling down his face.

This time, daughter copied father and let her own tears fall in the same way.

She picked up her general and placed it in a new space. Looking down, she smiled.

"Checkmate."

Her father gaped. "What? No way! How did you do that?"

Akane shrugged. "I guess shogi wasn't as hard as I remembered."

"Rematch! No fair! I'm rusty!"

"Okay, okay," Akane sighed, clearing the board. As they reset their pieces, she found herself smiling. 


	22. This is Real

The next few weeks crawled by. Akane attended school. Her father made various attempts to fix the air conditioning. Ukyo or Shampoo would come over a few times a week, sometimes both at once. They would try to help her learn how to cook something, and it always came out poorly, and they always left a mess. So, Akane cleaned. She cleaned behind the refrigerator. She cleaned the hair out of the shower drain. She moved everything out of the storage closet and wiped down the walls and shelves and threw out things they didn’t need anymore. She weeded the entire yard. She started a small vegetable garden out front. She may not have been able to cook food, but she could certainly grow some. 

And she practiced. Soun tried joining her for the occasional sparring match, but she was faster than him, stronger. He gave up quickly, both proudly and sadly stating he had no more to teach her. They would play shogi. She lost most matches, but won more than she expected to. 

And she had nightmares. Not every night. Often enough. And nearly every time she had one, she would wake up before dawn, a sinking feeling in her chest, her brain convincing her that Ranma was dead. That carrying him out of that cave, seeing him awake in the hospital, listening to his heartbeat, that had been the real dream. But the truth was that he was gone, and never coming back. 

And her eyes would focus slowly, adjusting to the dark. She would breathe. Slap her face just enough to feel it. 

No. Ranma was alive. He was safe.

One of those nights, she woke up in a heavy sweat, the air conditioning having gone out again. It was impossible to fall back asleep in that heat, so she went downstairs to fetch a glass of water. When she reached the bottom step, she hesitated and looked over at the small table in the entryway.

She picked up the phone. Dialed a number. Listened to it ring. And ring. And ring. 

“Mmm. Hello?” A sleepy voice on the other end.

“Toshiko-sensei.” Akane drew in a sharp breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called, it’s too late.”

“Mmrph? Akane-san? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, this was a mistake--”

“No, no, no Akane-san.” A yawn. “Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s just--I had a bad dream.” Akane closed her eyes and licked her lips. “I’m sorry, this is stupid.”

“I told you that you could call anytime, and I meant it. Now, would you like to tell me what your dream was about?”

“Can I ask you something first?”

“Sure.”

“Is Ranma okay?”

“Saotome-kun? Yes, he’s doing quite well. He seems rather bored, and he is not a fan of the physical therapy, but he’s healing quickly.”

“But he’s--alive?”

“Yes, Akane-san. Is that what your dream was about?”

Akane twisted the curls of the cord that connected the phone receiver to the base between her knuckles. “Sometimes I get it mixed up. My dreams feel like real memories, sometimes. And I have to think about whether some things really happened.”

“Akane-san, can you do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Look around. Tell me five things that you can see.”

“Oh. Um. It’s a little dark, but, I can see--the phone. The plant on the table. My shoes by the door. The clock on the wall. The table itself, I guess.”

“Very good. And can you tell me four things you can feel?”

“Um. The phone. The phone cord. The floor under my feet. Um, my pajama top.”

“And three things you can hear?”

“Oh, jeez. Uh--your voice. The phone clicking. The refrigerator in the kitchen, but it’s kinda faint.”

“That’s okay. Two things you can smell?”

“The, um, the floor cleaner from when I mopped earlier. The, um, phone? The material? If that makes sense.”

“It does. Now, one thing you can taste.”

“Oh--my toothpaste from when I brushed my teeth.”

“Excellent. Do you feel better?”

“I do, a little. But I don’t understand--”

“You know all those things are real, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Then whenever you are feeling out of sorts, or panicked, I want you to try to do that again, okay? Just observe and ground yourself with the things around you. Feel the textures of your clothes. Listen to the sound of the cars on the street. Do you understand?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Would you like to talk about anything else?”

“No. No, I feel better, actually. Thank you, sensei.”

“You’re very welcome. Would you like me to pass greetings on to Saotome-kun?”

“Oh, I--yes. But don’t tell him I was worried about him! Just that I said hello.”

A laugh. “Very well. I’ll give him the message. And one more thing, Akane-san.”

“Yes?”

“Make yourself a cup of tea.”

Akane smiled. “Okay, sensei.”

* * *

Friday was the last day of school before summer break. As they left the building at the end of the day, Akane asked Yuka and Sayuri to go shopping with her.

“Yes!” said Sayuri with an excited hop. “Vacation wardrobe!”

“I could use a new swimsuit!” added Yuka. “Is that what you’re looking for?”

“Actually, I need a new dress,” replied Akane. “My clothes lately seem to be stretched out or something.”

“No way,” said Yuka. She pulled on the waist of Akane’s school uniform dress, revealing how much room there was. “You’ve just gotten way too thin.”

Akane batted her hands away. “I don’t think it’s that--”

“It definitely is,” said Sayuri. “We were actually starting to get worried. Are you getting enough to eat?”

“Trust me, I’m eating plenty,” replied Akane, thinking of the four nights a week she had takeout, and the other three nights Shampoo, Ukyo, or both would come over and make a multi-course meal. 

“Maybe you’re just working out too much,” said Yuka. “We never hang out anymore, you always go home to train or clean or something.”

“Maybe you’re right,” said Akane, frowning. “I have been training a lot lately.”

“Then you should take a break!” said Sayuri, linking arms with her. “We’ll go shopping with you, but you have to promise not to do any exercise after you go home!”

“Yeah!” said Yuka, grabbing her other arm. “You just gotta sit around and eat snacks!”

Akane let out a reluctant chuckle. “Okay, okay! I’ll take it easy, at least for tonight!”

“All right! Let’s go!”

* * *

At the department store, Yuka found the perfect two-piece suit almost immediately. Sayuri, meanwhile, grabbed nearly everything that caught her eye, resulting in her carrying a gigantic pile of clothes in her arms to the changing rooms. 

“Sayuri, are you even going to buy all that?” Yuka moaned.

“Maybe!” Sayuri said from behind the slatted door. She threw her pile up to rest on top of it defiantly. “I’ve been babysitting all year! I should be able to spend it however I want! I deserve it!”

_ Deserve it _ .

Akane froze and looked down at the three dresses in her hands. The bustle of the store was started to muddle into a buzzing noise in her ears. She took a deep breath and looked around. What could she see? Yuka. A sale sign. The lever on the changing room door. The pile of Sayuri’s clothes, threatening to spill over the top. A clothes rack. 

What could she touch? The dresses in her hands. One, two, three. The metal of the hangers. 

What could she hear? An elevator signaling it’s arrival. Footsteps on tile floor. A sales assistant chatting with a customer. 

What could she smell? New fabric. Her deodorant she put on this morning.

Taste? The leftovers of her lunch, yakisoba bread. 

The last thought brought a genuine smile to her face. 

“Akane? Are you okay?” Yuka was giving her a curious look.

“Yeah, I am!” Akane nodded. “I’m gonna try these on.”

“Good, you have to let me see them!”

“Me too!” said Sayuri from behind the door.

Akane grinned and stepped into the room next to Sayuri. It was nice to be around her normal friends for a while. She had grown closer with Shampoo and Ukyo over the past few weeks, but both of them had an inherent competitive streak that instinctively flared up whenever they were in the same place for too long. And she had known Yuka since pre-school, and Sayuri nearly as long. And they got to live normal lives, for the most part, without curses or insane martial arts challenges or dangerous trips to the mountains. 

But they had always reacted well to the weirdness that Ranma had brought into her life. No, that wasn’t true. Her life was weird and hectic before she met Ranma, wasn’t it? Kuno and the other boys challenging her daily for a fight. Nabiki’s gossip and schemes bringing about a number of disgruntled students and adults seeking revenge that Akane had to protect her from. Akane’s own fighting spirit and insistence on breaking the arm of any bully she ran into, even as an eight-year old. The principal had to meet with her dad quite a few times about that. 

And Yuka and Sayuri were always there, willing to take her to the movies to cheer her up, or ask her for help with their homework, or visit her in the hospital. 

“Hey!” Akane yelled through the door. “I’m really lucky to have you guys as friends!”

A long pause.

“You’re welcome?” came Yuka’s voice. 

Akane smiled and tried on the first dress. She had chosen a size smaller than she normally would, but it fit pretty well. Unfortunately, the color was hideous. 

“Ugh, I hate this!” she groaned, opening the door to show Yuka. 

Sayuri was also outside of her room, wearing a very expensive looking silk blouse. She made a face. “Yeah, that color is--not you.”

“I agree,” said Yuka. “Try again!”

“Mmm,” she nodded and returned to her room. The second dress was too low cut. She blushed as she looked at herself in the mirror. 

“I don’t even wanna show you guys this!”

“Come on, Akane!”

“All right,” she sighed. She opened the door again.

Yuka and Sayuri looked at each, then back at Akane, and shook their heads. 

Akane exhaled and closed the door. 

The last dress was perfect. A very flattering seafoam green sundress that stopped just above the knee. She smiled as she opened the door to the changing room for the last time.

“Now this one--”

“Akane! It’s so cute!” Yuka sighed dreamily.

“Let me see, let me see!” Sayuri burst out of her own dressing room in a hot pink negligee with the sales tags sticking out of the back. “Aah! That is cute!”

“Sayuri! What if someone sees you?”

“Who cares, it’s the nineties! Get with the times, Yuka! It’s not like their eyes will fall out of their heads!”

“I’m glad you guys like it,” said Akane. 

“Definitely,” said Yuka. “I think Ranma will like it too.”

Akane blushed. “How did you--”

“It’s been four weeks. He must be coming home soon, right? Maybe tomorrow?’

“Yeah, actually,” Akane nodded and stared down at her feet. “You guys know me pretty well, huh?”

“Of course!” said Sayuri. She stepped over and used her index fingers to push up Akane’s cheeks. “It doesn’t hurt you wear all of your emotions on your face all the time.” 

“Makes it easy to tell what you’re thinking,” Yuka agreed. 

“I guess so,” Akane mumbled through the weird facial expression Sayuri was causing her to make. 

“Oh!” Sayuri exclaimed, gasping her hands in realization. “We should go to the cafe after this! I want a parfait so bad!”

“Yes!” said Yuka. “I want tiramisu!”

“I don’t know,” said Akane, rubbing one of her cheeks. “I have to--”

“No way, you said you would eat snacks with us!” said Sayuri.

“I don’t know if I said ‘with you,’ but--”

“Please, Akane! Let’s hang out some more before Ranma gets back and takes you away from us,” said Yuka. 

“Oh, I--he won’t. I mean, I’m sorry--”

“Bah, I’m just teasing, don’t apologize. Just come to the cafe!”

Akane smiled. “All right. Snacks together it is!”

“Yes!” Sayuri cheered and lifted up one of her arms in celebration, causing the top of the negligee to shift dangerously low. 

“Sayuri, go change!” yelled Yuka, shoving the other girl back into the changing room. 

“What a prude!” Sayuri called from her new prison. 

Yuka ignored her and looked over at Akane. “Can I ask you one more thing, Akane?”

“Sure.”

“Are you ready for Ranma to come home?”

“What do you mean?”

“Not that things are ever calm for you, not really. But you know how things are when Ranma is around.”

Akane took a deep breath. It was true. Trouble followed Ranma like a magnet. And yes, her life had always been hectic, but after she was introduced to Ranma--

“Trust me,” said Akane, nodding. “I’m ready.”


	23. Ready But Not Ready

Akane awoke before dawn. She was too nervous--excited?--to eat breakfast. She put on her new dress. Combed and styled her hair, pulling part of it back in a nice clip that had a small bow. Applied a little bit of makeup.

Waited on the stairs, on the second step from the bottom. Fidgeting and continuously smoothing out the skirt of her dress. Bouncing one leg up and down, staring at the front door.

After a while, the rising sun outside gave some light to the room, casting everything in an early morning glow. She heard her father leave his bedroom on the ground floor and enter the restroom, exiting after a few minutes. His footsteps in the hall, coming closer.

"Akane, awake already?

"Yeah, I'm just--waiting."

"I'll wait with you."

Soun walked around and took a seat on the step next to her. Neither of them spoke for quite a while.

The air conditioning clicked on.

"Did you manage to get it fixed, Dad?"

"Let's hope so. It's only supposed to get hotter."

Another sound, fainter, distant. A car door.

Akane jumped to her feet. "Is that them?"

"I didn't hear anything."

"I think that's them!"

She slid open the front door.

At the far end of the walkway, outside of the gates, Nodoka and Tofu were helping Ranma get out of a cab, helping him balance on a pair of crutches. 

Ranma.

Alive. Moving.

Akane watched as he hopped a few steps forward, through the gates, his mother close behind.

"Ran . . ."

She had only whispered half of his name. But he looked up. Smiled. Lifted one hand and leaned to the side, keeping his crutch under his arm. 

"Yo, Akane."

"Ranma!"

She ran forward, not bothering to put on her shoes, feeling the stone on the soles of her bare feet. She threw her arms around Ranma's middle and buried her head in his chest, colliding with such force he stumbled back a step on his good leg, dropping one of his crutches, letting it clatter to the ground.

"Ranma!" Akane cried again, muffled, her face buried in his shirt. He smelled like hospital disinfectant and a musty cab all at once. 

Ranma lowered his free arm and wrapped it around her upper back. He buried his own face in hair.

"I'm home, Akane."

Genma lumbered up, carrying several bags of luggage, and Soun met him halfway down the walk near Ranma and Akane.

"Quite a welcome, eh, Tendo-kun?"

"Sure was, Saotome-kun!"

Ranma and Akane, lost in each other, didn't move or respond to their fathers.

"Now, now, leave them be!" said Nodoka, pushing her husband gently.

"Ranma-kun, I'll be inside when you're ready," Tofu said as he walked by. 

"And maybe I'll make breakfast," Kasumi said, following him. "Have you eaten yet, Father?"

"Not yet, but you just got home, Kasumi--"

"That's all right--"

"Let her do it, Tendo-kun, I'm starving--"

The voices of the adults faded away as they went into the house. Ranma and Akane remained motionless, in each other's arms, long after, as the sun slowly climbed in the sky.

"Akane?" Ranma said, after quite a while.

"Yeah?"

"I am pretty hungry."

"Oh." She pulled back, not quite letting go of Ranma, and used one hand to wipe a few stray tears from her eyes. "Right. I understand."

"So let's--?"

"Mm." She finally let him go, bending down to pick up his crutch. "Here."

"Thanks."

"Sorry I made you drop it."

"What did I say about apologizing?"

"But this is a new thing!"

"Still, not necessary," Ranma said, hopping forward on his crutches. "I'd be excited to see me too, after a month."

"Well, at least your ego isn't broken."

"Never is."

Akane unsuccessfully tried to hide a smile. It almost felt normal between them again, and so quickly.

"Akane?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you get a new dress? Looks nice."

"Oh. Thanks." She stepped forward quickly so that her back was to him so that he couldn't see her blush.

"Heyyy--- you didn't buy a new dress just to impress me, did you?"

Her blush deepened. "Don't be stupid!"

"And here I was disappointed because you didn't notice the new shirt I bought to show off to you."

She turned around in surprise. "Did you really?"

"No." He poked her in the forehead. "Gotcha."

"Ranma!"

"Heh," he chuckled as he made his way to the front door. Once in the entryway, he paused and looked back at her. "You do look nice, though. I mean it."

She smiled. "Thanks."

  
  


* * *

"Two more weeks?!"

Everyone was gathered around the table. Off to the side, Ranma propped his casted leg up into Tofu’s lap for an examination. 

“Sorry, Ranma-kun. You need at least two more weeks in the cast.”

“At least?!” Ranma moaned, and fell back onto the floor, covering his eyes with his forearm. “But it’s so itchy!”

Tofu smiled. “I understand it’s uncomfortable--”

“It’s not just uncomfortable, it’s hell!” Ranma rolled over onto his stomach, his leg sliding off of Tofu. “I just want some relief for once!”

“Now, now, Ranma-kun, two weeks isn’t such a long time. As long as you keep up with your therapy exercises--”

“Ugh, those suck too. Don’t you have any good news for me, doc?”

Tofu considered the question carefully, scratching his chin with one finger. He crossed his arms. He looked up. He looked down. He looked over at Kasumi. He looked back at Ranma. 

“No.”

“You really need to work on that bedside manner.”

“I’m baaa-aack!” 

Nabiki, loaded down with four sacks of laundry, walked into the room with a singsong greeting. 

“Nabiki, you’re home too?” asked Akane. 

“Of course, it’s summer vacation!” Nabiki dropped her bags and plopped down at the table. “Ooh, looks like I made it home for breakfast!”

Akane felt a tiny pang of guilt for not realizing her sister would be coming home the same day as Ranma. She pushed it aside. “Well, it’s nice to have you back.”

“Thanks, but I was thinking it would be even nicer if we all went on a trip to the beach!”

“Oh, but Ranma still has to be in a cast for the next two weeks,” said Kasumi.

“So?” asked Nabiki. “We’re all just gonna live our lives centered around what’s going with Ranma?”

Everyone around the table fell silent. 

“I mean, yeah, we usually do,” said Akane. 

“Ugh, this house sucks!”

“That reminds me, Ranma,” said Tofu. “We discussed it a little before, but it’s very important you stay in your boy form while in your cast if you want your leg to set properly. That means avoid cold water at all costs.”

“I know, I know.”

“And that means no throwing him into the koi pond, dear,” Nodoka said to Genma.

“You really think I would hurt my own son, who is already injured, and prevent him from healing properly?” Genma asked, offended.

“Yes,” replied everyone else in the room all at once. 

Genma threw himself into the koi pond. He held up a sign that said,  _ I’m just an innocent panda! _

“At least now I can eat in peace,” Ranma said, rolling upright and scooting over to the table. Awkwardly, he shoved his leg underneath.

“Ow! Ranma! Your cast hit me in the knee!” Nabiki yelled.

“Well it’s not like I can help it, can I?”

“There’s gotta be somewhere else you can put it!”

“Fine!” He scooted back a couple of inches, put both hands under his thigh, lifted his leg up, and slammed it down on top of the table, the plates and bowls making a loud clang with the impact. 

“How immature!” Nabiki said, and stuck her tongue out at him.

“You’re immature!” He replied, mirroring her move. 

“Just don’t knock over my plate!” Soun cried, lifting said plate up and closer to his chest. 

Akane watched quietly as the argument continued. Nodoka rebuked her son. Kasumi attempted to make peace. Tofu offered timid backup. Nabiki started complaining about not being able to go to the beach again.

Akane had almost worried that her house would have stayed quiet forever. She really should have known better.


	24. It's Been One Week

"Ranma, time for your exercises!"

Akane opened the door to Ranma's room where he lay on his stomach, reading manga. 

"No, do we have to?"

"Yes, don't whine! Tofu-sensei showed me what to do, so I'm going to help you today."

"Really?" This revelation seemed to cheer him a bit, as he immediately rolled over and sat up. 

"Yeah. Come on, let's go out to the dojo."

She grabbed hold of his hand and helped him stand. He leaned against the wall as she handed him his crutches.

Ranma became a little squirrely as he followed her to the dojo. 

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Akane?"

"What, you don't believe in me?"

"It's just--shouldn't a doctor do it?"

"Tofu-sensei said you've improved enough you can do the less intensive exercises. You just need someone to help you stretch." She opened the door to the dojo. "Here we are!"

Akane pulled a training mat out of the storage closet and spread it on the ground.

"All right, lay down."

Frowning petulantly, Ranma hobbled over to the mat and slowly lowered himself, putting his crutches on the floor next to him. Carefully, he reclined completely until he was flat on his back with his legs straight in front of him.

"I'm ready, I guess."

"Good." Akane took a seat by his feet. She lifted his broken leg by the foot of the cast and slowly started lifting it upwards. "Let me know if it hurts."

"It's fine. "

She let his leg lower, then repeated the exercise, stretching it a little further each time.

"Why do you hate doing this so much?"

"It's boring."

"But normally you work out all time."

"This is too repetitive."

"You do like 500 situps a day."

"Well, yeah." He patted his stomach. "Gotta keep it tight."

Akane, his leg propped up on one of her shoulders, rolled her eyes. Although secretly, she had to admit that he did, in fact, keep it tight. 

"Well you only have to wear the cast one more week at least."

"Yeah, but I still have to do stupid exercises."

"But they'll be different exercises with both your legs."

"I guess that's something," he muttered.

"And that way you'll be back in shape before school starts again."

"Akane--Akane, I'm not going back to school."

She dropped his leg in shock, but caught it right before it hit the mat.

"What?"

Ranma lifted himself to a sitting position, leaning back on his hands.

"I already missed a whole month. And now it's summer break. Besides, there's no reason to go back."

"But you don't want to go to university?"

"Nah, Akane, you know that's not for me." He gave her a soft look. "But I know you wanna go. Or you did. Do you still want to?"

"Y--yeah."

"Well, that's fine. You'll be home on the weekend, and breaks, like Nabiki. Probably more often than her."

"I guess you're right."

"What's wrong?"

"I just--what are you going to do? If you're not in school?"

"Guess I'm going to have to start teaching."

"Teaching?"

"You know, martial arts. Get new students for the dojo. Teach some of these bratty kids around here how to handle themselves."

"Ranma, I don't know about you as a teacher--"

"It'll be easier when you start helping."

"Me?"

"Yeah, after you graduate university. I know you wanna take business classes and stuff so you can run this place right, but don't you wanna teach too?"

Akane stared at him. Ranma could be really perceptive sometimes. Even though they had never really talked about it, he had basically described her whole life plan. And made it fit in with his! No argument, just acceptance and adaptability. She felt her heart beat a little faster.

"I do," she said. "But--"

_ Click. Clickclickclickclickclick. _

The hum of the air conditioner disappeared, leaving a palpable silence.

"Aw, great," Ranma groaned. "It's about to get hotter than hell in here."

Casually, he grabbed his shirt by the back of the collar and lifted it over his head in one swift motion. He balled it up and tossed it towards the corner of the dojo.

Akane looked over at him and gasped.

"Oh, Ranma--"

"What?" he asked with genuine confusion.

"Your shoulder--"

"Oh. That."

The last time Akane had seen him, it had been covered in bandages. Now there was a shiny, ragged, and long scar that crossed from his upper shoulder to his upper pectoral, partially hidden by the strap of his tank top. It was so uneven, she found it hard to believe the wound had been made by such a smooth blade.

"Just a scar, Akane. I got plenty."

"But this is--" She reached out and let her fingertips just barely rest on his skin. She traced the path of the scar slowly, letting her hand linger underneath his shirt momentarily before pulling back. "Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore."

"You don't always have to act so tough, you know."

"It's not acting."

He was smiling, using a teasing tone, definitely trying to ease the tension.

“What about your leg?”

“What about it?”

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“Only sometimes. Mostly at night. I can feel all those nuts and bolts they put in me.”

Akane frowned, and looped her finger under the strap of his tank top and ran it along the edge down to the side seam. 

"And when did you rip this?"

"Eh, back in the hospital when I was trying to change my bandages. Not a big deal, I fixed it."

"You fixed it?" Akane slid her finger over the fresh and neat stitching that was in a slightly different color than the rest of the garment. "Since when can you sew?

"It was super boring in the hospital. They don't even have cable tv. Had to do something with my time. Not a super manly hobby, I know. Don't tell my mom."

"I won't." Akane quickly dropped her hand into her lap. "Well, I think we're done for today. Let's go clean up before dinner."

"Sure."

Ranma expected Akane to help him stand again, but she was out of the dojo before he had even picked up his crutches. Furrowing his brow, he awkwardly managed to stand and make his way out of the dojo by himself.

_ What is she thinking? _

* * *

Akane acted normally the rest of the day. And the day after. And the day after that. She would help Ranma exercise, make conversation, show concern. Sometimes they would argue, but never for very long, and never with the old ferocity they used to have. 

But they were never alone. Even when she helped him exercise, one of their parents or one of her sisters would interrupt, with a question or unsolicited advice. Ranma was starting to get frustrated. Akane was finally touching him, of her own free will, but the frequent disruptions seemed to make her self-conscious and thus their physical interactions were absurdly chaste.

He went down to the dojo early on Saturday and pondered over this dilemma while performing sit-ups. 

_ Aren't we teenagers? _

Up. Down.

_ Aren't we in the prime of our youth? _

Up. Down.

_ Haven't we admitted we love each other? _

Up. D--

Wait a minute.

Frozen in the up position, hands behind his head, Ranma thought back on everything that had always happened.

_ Akane, I love you. _

_ I love you, Akane. I've always loved you. _

_ Yep, I said that. But Akane-- _

He punched the floor next to him with a closed fist. That little sneak! 

It was at that moment Akane entered the dojo, smiling.

"All right, Ranma, are you ready?"

He thought about bringing it up to her. Thought about asking why all the pressure was always on him. Straight out asking if she loved him, the way he loved her. 

Which might be impossible, actually, because when he looked at her warm smile he doubted anyone could ever feel as full of love as he did in that moment.

Maybe she couldn't say it, yet. He could wait.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm ready."


	25. We Belong

"Tomorrow?! Really?!"

"I thought you would be happy to hear that Ranma-kun," Tofu said. "But yes, come to the clinic tomorrow and we'll get that cast off." 

"Thank goodness," Ranma sighed as he took a seat at the dinner table. He set the salad bowl he had managed to carry while still using his crutches in the center of the table. His mother brought out several other bowls and platters full of food as the rest of the family filtered into the room.

"Smells great dear!" said Genma.

"Can't wait, I'm starving!" said Soun. 

"Yes, thank you!" Akane echoed, taking a seat next to Ranma. 

"Thank you for doing all this, Auntie," said Kasumi, who had spent the afternoon with Tofu.

"Well, Ranma helped," said Nodoka. "He made the salad."

The color drained from Akane's face but the only one who noticed was her father.

"Did you, Ranma-kun? How nice," commented Kasumi.

He shrugged. "Pff, no big deal. I did make a vinaigrette from scratch, though."

Akane wordlessly set down her chopsticks, her father watching carefully.

"It's actually pretty good," Nabiki said through a mouthful of tomato.

"Excuse me," Akane said politely. She pushed her bowl away from her before standing to leave the room. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"What's her problem?" asked Ranma. "It's just s---YOW!"

Soun had grabbed his pigtail and pulled Ranma across the table.

"Son, you need to fix this," he growled. 

"But I didn't do anything!" Ranma protested.

"GO!"

Soun released him with a shove.

"Fine, all right, jeez," Ranma grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. Reluctantly, he picked up his crutches and got to his feet with Tofu's help.

Still grumbling, he hopped out of the room to search the house.

What had he done to hurt Akane now?

* * *

Akane sat on the roof, watching the sun sink in the sky, sending curls of gold and pink through the blue, slowly turning purple as night approached. She pulled her legs up to her chest and embraced her knees. She was wearing shorts, but it was so hot and humid she started sweating in the places her skin made contact with itself almost immediately. 

"Ugh, here you are."

Ranma hoisted himself up over the edge of the roof, holding his crutches in one hand. With a little bit of a struggle, he managed to complete the climb and move over so he was sitting fairly close to Akane.

"You really made me climb up here with a broken leg, huh?"

"I didn't make you do anything," she said, turning away.

"What is your problem? What was that whole scene at dinner?"

"Nothing, I just wasn't hun--OW!"

He had flicked her in the temple.

"How many times are you going to do that?!" she asked, angrily rubbing the side of her head.

"As many times as you lie," Ranma retorted. "Now what's really going on?"

She sighed. 

"I wanted to cook something for you, for when you came home."

Ranma gave an involuntary shudder of fear, but said nothing. 

"Obviously, I didn't," Akane snapped, noticing the look on his face. "But I really tried to learn. Ukyo and Shampoo even tried to help."

"Really?"

"Really! But in the end, I couldn't even make a salad."

"Oh. I see."

"But it's not just that!" Akane said. "You're good at everything. You're sewing your own clothes now. You're even healing from your injuries quicker than seems humanly possible. It's just--what do you even need me for?

Ranma paused. 

"Akane, can I ask you something?"

"Okay."

"Do you even like to cook?"

"What?"

"You know, I know you like doing martial arts, and reading all those nerdy books for school, but do you actually like cooking?"

Akane stared at him in amazement.

"No," she admitted. "I hate it!"

"Then don't do it."

"But I feel like I should contribute, somehow."

Ranma crossed his arms and appeared to be deep in thought. 

"All right, let's make a deal," he said after a long beat. "After we get married, I'll do all the cooking and you'll do all the dishes."

"After we--"

"I think it's fair. Cooking is fun for me, and you gotta like cleaning. The house looks better than ever since I came back."

"I guess so."

"So it's a deal, then." Ranma didn't wait for an answer, but simply put his hands behind his head and laid back on the incline of the roof, staring up at the sky.

"You're not worried--" Akane laid down next to him, on her side, so she could look at him. "You're not worried about not being manly?"

"Nah. Lots of chefs are dudes, right? And who cares about that stuff anyway?"

"I thought you did."

"Well, sometimes."

"You're very contradictory."

"Just my nature, I guess."

Akane smiled. Watching him talk, the sharpness of his jawline, the curve of his throat, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a coy grin.

"Ranma--"

"Yeah?"

"You said, 'after we're married.'"

"I did."

"Do you think about that a lot? What it'll be like? After?"

"Sure. I know it won't happen for a while yet, but I wanna be prepared."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Remember we talked about this already?"

"You mean the stuff about you teaching classes?"

"Yeah, I think about that. And other stuff."

"Like what?"

"Ah, like--" A blush spread over his cheeks. "Like about what our kids will be like and stuff."

"Oh? What will they be like?"

"Well, if they're like me, they'll eat us out of house and home. And I'll probably have to learn how to do a lot of home repairs."

"'They? How many kids were you planning on?"

Akane stretched her hand out, just barely brushing her fingertips against the silk of his shirt.

"Three sounds like a good number to me."

"Boys or girls?"

She moved her body closer to him until she was right up next to him. She reached her arm across his torso and lifted her head so she could rest it on his chest.

"Maybe a mix. But I think three girls wouldn't be so bad."

Ranma brought down his left arm to cross Akane's back.

"Three girls, huh?"

"Seemed to work out okay for you guys."

"Okay, but what if they're all like Kasumi? And none of them want to do martial arts."

"Well, that's okay."

"It is?"

"Akane, I'd never do to our kids what my dad did to me."

His voice was firm. She kept her cheek against his chest, listening for his heart.

"What if they're all boys, and still like Kasumi?"

"I told you, it's fine."

"What if they're all like Nabiki?"

"Well--" He hesitated. "We'll probably never go broke at least. Three little accountants wouldn't be so bad."

She giggled. The sun was nearly hidden behind the horizon. Somewhere among all the other noises of the neighborhood, she could hear the sounds of children laughing and playing on their summer break. 

Ranma thought about their future. Not just thought about it, but was confident in it. And his thoughts were surprisingly gentle, not what she would have expected from the wild, brash boy she had known for so long.

Warmth filled her body. Not just the summer heat. Not just the body heat emanating from Ranma. Something different that started in her chest and surged through her fingers and toes. And she felt happy. And peaceful.

"Akane?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you ready to eat dinner now? I'm starving."

"Oh. Sure."

Akane sat up and began to help Ranma lower himself off the roof. As they clasped hands at the edge, he looked up at her and gave her one of those lopsided grins she knew so well.

And she had an idea.

* * *

"Freedom!"

Ranma wiggled his freshly unbound toes while sitting on a bed in Tofu's clinic. Akane had helped him walk there this morning and she seemed to have a definite spring in her step.

"But Ranma," she said, suppressing a smile. "It's so--skinny."

Indeed, his recently unencumbered leg was almost comically thin, a flesh colored toothpick sticking out of his hiked up pant leg.

"Yeah," said Ranma. "But take a look at this."

He pulled up his left pant leg to reveal a bulging, veiny calf muscle. 

"It's a little--" Akane searched for the word. "Monstrous."

"Yeah, I know, I love it!"

Akane scrunched up her nose. "You do?"

"Now, Ranma-kun," Tofu interrupted. "Let's see you stand up and walk around."

"Sure thing." Ranma lifted himself onto his feet, gingerly bending his knees. He easily took a lap around the exam room.

"How does it feel?"

"Gotta get used to shifting my weight back the other way, but it doesn't hurt or anything."

"Good. But you might feel pain in your hips in the next few weeks as your body readjusts, so it's important you keep up with your new round of exercises."

"Bleh. Fine."

"Sensei," said Akane chipperly, bouncing as she stood in front of Ranma. "Is he okay to spar?"

Ranma looked at her in surprise. "You wanna spar with me?"

"What's the matter, afraid?" she asked, teasing.

He grinned. "Definitely not."

Tofu looked back and forth between the two teenagers.

"I would say no," he sighed. "But knowing the two of you, you would do it anyway."

"Oh yeah, we absolutely would," agreed Ranma.

"Fine then, you can spar, IF--"

Tofu held up one finger to pause their premature celebration.

"IF you take it easy. No intense moves. And Ranma, if you feel any discomfort at all, you must stop immediately."

"Got it, doc." Ranma gave him a thumbs up and turned back to Akane. "Race you home?"

"Yes!"

"Wait, no, do not, do not--" Tofu clambered to his feet as the teenagers ran out the door. "Do not race home!"

But they were already gone.

Tofu stood at the front door and stared down the street, watching their backs as they quickly disappeared around the corner. 

He sighed, but smiled. 

"Aah, to be young and in love." He blinked in realization. "Wait. I am young and in love."

Whistling to himself, he returned to the clinic, planning on inviting Kasumi over for dinner.

* * *

In the dojo, Ranma performed a few warm up stretches while waiting for Akane to change clothes. It felt good to have control over both of his legs again, although he was starting to think the lingering soreness in his right leg was never going away. 

He let his pant legs down. It was going to be a while before he got his right leg into the same monster shape as his left one. He took off his silk shirt and tossed it aside. Tank top was much more preferable in the heat, even though Akane's dad had managed at least a temporary fix of the air conditioning. 

"Are you ready, Ranma?"

He turned to see Akane in the door in her own training clothes, a tank top and sweatpants that tapered and cuffed at the ankle. A bright green sports bra was visible underneath her tank, but he tried not to focus on that.

"You bet."

"Good." Akane strode to the center of the room so she was a few feet from him.

"And I don't care what Tofu-sensei was talking about," Ranma said, taking a ready stance as Akane quickly stretched her arms back and forth. "You don't need to take it easy on me."

"Fine," said Akane. She tilted her neck to either side and it made a soft pop. "I won't."

She slid her feet hip width distance apart and brought her right hand up in a blade position.

"Ready?"

"Let's start!"

Ranma let her move first, as he always did, which turned out to be a mistake. She ran forward, fast, faster than even the last time she had done this, and he reacted to her low center of gravity. But at the last second, she changed her angle of attack, and she moved so quickly he didn't have time to react, resulting in her landing a solid blow to his shoulder.

"Ow!" He said, mostly in surprise.

"You getting rusty?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

They circled each other carefully. Again, he let her move first, and she started high this time but again changed at the last second dropping down and sweeping his legs out from under him with her foot.

He landed on his backside and stared up at her furiously. "Dirty trick!"

"We went through this before. Anything Goes, remember?"

"I remember."

He jumped to his feet.

The third time, he put her on the defensive. He was still faster, and she wasn't expecting him to be the instigator. He managed to get through her hasty defense and land a palm strike on her shoulder. She stumbled backward but caught herself, then launched herself forward again.

They moved smoothly across the dojo, with Ranma either blocking her attacks or meeting her blows with his own. She was definitely pulling her punches, he could tell she wasn't throwing her weight behind her movements.

But then again, he was doing the same.

Akane lifted her leg into a high kick which Ranma blocked with his forearm.

"Nice to see you do more than evade my attacks for once."

He grinned. "I guess I got tired of dodging."

She returned his grin. "Is that so?"

She spun into the air, aiming her opposite leg into a kick at his head. He had little time to react, so he simply caught her by the ankle.

He laughed as she squirmed, dangling at the end of his arm. "Well, this seems familiar."

"Ranma!"

"You're not gonna bite me again, are you?" He stretched out his arm so she was as far away as possible.

"Trust me, that's not the plan!"

Before he could react, Akane hefted her weight and brought her free leg up and around the back of Ranma's neck. The action threw him off balance and he released her. As he fell to the ground, Akane spun her body around to his front so that as he landed flat on his back, she was on top of him, straddling his waist.

"Wow," was all he could say as he looked up at her.

She leaned forward to look him in the eye. She placed her palms flat on the ground on either side of his head.

"Ranma," she said, smiling wide. "I love you!"

His heart stopped, for just a second.

"Really?"

She nodded. "Really!"

And then she kissed him.

And then he forgot. He forgot holding her on a cave ledge in China. He forgot how her face crumpled after he rejected her before their attempted wedding. He forgot the first time they had done this and she had told him she hated him. He forgot how it felt to be bleeding out on the floor of another cave, his leg crushed to bits, and how he wanted to use his last words to tell her how he really felt.

He forgot all of that.

Akane loved him. And she was pressing her lips against his with passion and joy that deserved to be returned. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. He slid one hand up her back along her spine, letting his fingers rest on the patch of skin between the top of her shirt and the nape of her neck before continuing their journey to entangle in her hair.

She shifted her weight slightly, so her head tilted to the side as they continued the kiss. She stroked the side of his face with one hand, cupping her fingers along his jaw.

He took his other hand and started moving downwards, resting on the waistband of her pants, before--

"You're welcome!"

Ranma and Akane instantly broke apart and jumped several feet away from each other, both blushing up to their ears. They were surprised when they looked over at the open dojo door for the source of the voice. 

"Ryoga-kun?"

Ryoga leaned back against the door frame, crossing his arms and grinning. He flashed them a peace sign.

"Hey!"

"What're you doing here?!" Ranma demanded.

"Oh, same old, same old," said Ryoga. "Went to run an errand, got lost, ended up at the Tendo dojo, decided to visit my two best friends. And I came across this, frankly, touching scene. Which by the way, again, you're welcome."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Ranma grabbed a nearby freeweight and threw it at Ryoga's head.

Ryoga easily dodged before continuing. 

"You know as well as I do, Ranma, that if it wasn't for all my hard work, we wouldn't be here right now."

Ranma threw a cinder block at him.

Ryoga dodged again.

"Not only is my very blood now pumping through your veins, here you are, rolling around with the love of your life. So, once more, you're welcome, no need for applause--"

"You're not getting any!" 

Ranma threw a folded up training mat at him. 

This, Ryoga caught with one hand, then set it upright on its side, leaning on it with one elbow.

"But really, I'm happy for you guys--"

"You know what would make us really happy, Ryoga?" Ranma asked, clenching his fist. "If you left us alone for a while."

"Oh, right, sure, I get it, alone." Ryoga winked and backed out of the dojo. "I'll make sure you guys are left alone, don't worry."

He shut the dojo door as he left.

"That idiot," Ranma muttered.

"What did he mean, Ranma?"

"Huh?"

"He said he helped. Helped what?"

"Ah, can we talk about this later? I don't want to waste any time."

"Waste any time?"

"Yeah, to get back to what we were doing."

"Oh? What were we doing?"

He scooted over to where Akane sat on the floor and rolled so that he was sitting in front of her. He put his hands on her waist and she brought her arms around his neck, giving him a sly smile followed by a giggle.

"Something like this," he said, and kissed her.

What happened after that is a matter of their privacy. But at the end of the day, despite all the trauma and pain and lunacy they had endured, they were, after all, just two teenagers in love.

* * *

Ryoga stretched out his legs as he sat on the front steps of the dojo, the door closed behind him.

"What an excellent friend I am," he said to himself. "I really am amazing."

He straightened in surprise as Genma exited the back door of the house, heading directly for the dojo.

"Mr. Saotome!" Ryoga jumped to his feet, landing about a foot away from Genma. "What are you up to?"

"Just practicing. A martial artist has to keep in shape no matter their age."

"Oh--uh--what about practicing with me? Right here?"

"With you?" Genma scratched his chin in consideration. "Could be interesting."

Ryoga grinned in relief. "Glad you think so---OOOOHH!"

Genma had grabbed Ryoga's arm and flipped him to the side about six feet. Ryoga made an "oof" sound as he hit the ground.

_Almost forgot this is the guy that trained Ranma._

"Okay, let's spar," Ryoga sighed as he climbed to his feet. Genma was already rushing towards him, jumping in the air with a high kick. Ryoga ducked and sent an uppercut into Genma's stomach, momentarily knocking the wind out of him.

"No fair!" Genma whined as he hit the ground. "You would strike an old man with such force?"

He began to openly weep. Ryoga leaned over in concern.

"Aw, jeez I'm sorr-EEEEEE!"

Genma had grabbed his ankle this time, neatly flipping and throwing Ryoga once more.

As he hit the ground for a second time, he thought, _I fucking hate the Anything Goes School_.

Ryoga rebounded and leaped high, aiming an aerial attack of his own at Genma. When he reached the apex, he noticed that Kasumi was making her way to the dojo. Ryoga switched tactics, using Genma's head as a launching point, and landed in front of Kasumi just as she was reaching for the door latch.

"Kasumi-san! What are you doing?"

"There's some linens in the storage closet in the dojo I've been meaning to get out for summer--"

"You don't need them!" Ryoga exclaimed. Thinking hastily, he added, "I'll get you new linens for your wedding!"

"WEDDING?!"

Soun emerged from the house with a bang, grabbing Kasumi in an embrace as he sobbed.

"Kasumi-chan, you would get married without telling your own father?!"

"I'm not?" Kasumi said, confused. 

Nabiki appeared in the wreckage of the back door. "Hey Kasumi, Tofu-sensei is on the phone--"

"Is he trying to propose? Without asking my permission?!" Soun howled.

"Don't be so archaic, Daddy." Nabiki rolled her eyes. Then blinked. "Wait, Kasumi, is he proposing?"

"I don't think so?" Kasumi replied, again in a confused tone. "I just needed the linens--"

"You don't need the linens!" Ryoga yelled in exasperation.

* * *

Inside the dojo, Ranma and Akane reluctantly pulled apart and looked over at the closed door, listening to the muffled commotion.

"Guess we should go out there, huh?" Ranma said, retying the drawstring of his pants.

"Yeah, probably," Akane sighed, pulling up the strap of her sports bra. "I guess we owe him."

* * *

"Now, listen," Ryoga asserted, putting his hands up palms out. "There's no reason for any of you to--"

The dojo door slid open behind him to reveal Ranma and Akane.

"Ranma!" Genma immediately yelled. "Ryoga-kun won't play with me anymore!"

"You want someone to spar with? Let's spar!" said Ranma and punched his father in the face.

"Now that's the Saotome spirit!" Genma yelled, returning the attack. The two of them tumbled off to the side to have a proper match.

Kasumi raised a hand to her cheek and wiggled out of her father's grasp.

"I really do need those linens--"

As she walked into the dojo, Soun threw his arms around her ankles, but she kept on going, dragging him along as he cried.

"You can't get married yet! I'm not ready!"

Nabiki chased after them into the building. "Wait, Tofu-sensei is still on the phone--"

Ryoga, still standing on the porch, lowered his hands and sighed deeply. "I really did try my best, you know."

"I know you did. And I want to thank you for all your help," Akane said. She reached up and cupped his face, lowering his head as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "P-chan."

Ryoga's body turned to stone.

Akane smiled and walked away with a small hum, clasping her hands behind her back.

Ranma, having properly pummeled his father into submission, bounced over to Ryoga and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Thanks for all your help, bud."

Ryoga didn't respond.

Ranma raised an eyebrow in concern. "What's wrong, man?"

"Ranma--did you-did you tell Akane--"

"Tell Akane what?"

"About--about P-chan?"

"Oh no, dude. Definitely not, are you crazy?"

"Then how--how did she--:

"I don't know, man. But no big deal, right?" Ranma shrugged and turned, walking backwards off the porch. "Best it's out in the open!"

He shot a couple of finger guns at Ryoga, turned again, and chased after Akane.

Ryoga's stone body crumbled to the ground. 


	26. The Wedding

"I can't believe they're finally getting married today."

"It was a long time coming."

"So, tell me what you think?"

Akane opened her bedroom door fully. She had been chatting with Ranma through a crack as she dressed, and now she stepped into the hallway to do a little spin. She had on a full celebratory kimono, purple, with gold floral embroidery. Her hair was pulled up and set in a flashy hairpin that matched the color scheme.

"Cute!"

"Really?"

"Definitely! For sure looks better than I do in this thing."

Ranma gestured at his own traditional style black and white men's kimono.

Akane moved forward and patted his chest. "I do think you look handsome, but yes, I will admit I prefer you in a suit."

"Don't worry, I'm gonna change for the reception," Ranma said, linking his hands around her waist. "What about you?"

"You just said the kimono was cute, didn't you?"

"It is." He leaned down to kiss her. "Very cute."

Their lips had just barely touched when his mother called them from downstairs.

"Ranma! Akane! Time to go!"

The two teenagers parted with disappointment. Ranma gallantly turned and offered Akane his arm.

"Ready?"

She nodded, putting her arm through his.

"Ready!"

The wedding ceremony was to take place at the shrine Tofu's family had attended for generations. Tofu had asked Genma to stand in for his father, as he had no other close family, and Kasumi had also asked Nodoka to stand in for her mother. 

During wedding planning, Kasumi had asked Ranma to attend the ceremony. When Ranma protested that going to the shrine was just for close family, Kasumi had given him a confused look.

"But you're my little brother!"

Ranma had dropped his opposition instantly.

Ukyo and Shampoo had agreed to cater the reception and make sure the dojo was ready for guests while the families were at the shrine. Both had also printed stacks of flyers and menus for their restaurant to hand out, but since they were catering for free, no one complained.

The ceremony was calm, serene. Kasumi looked radiant in her white kimono. Tofu looked like he was going to pass out, but Ranma and Genma kept nearby to make sure he remained upright through the entire process.

After the ceremony, Tofu was absolutely delirious. Kasumi, surprisingly, was nearly as happy. Nabiki and Akane ushered her away to help her change into her uchikake, and Ranma went to his room to change into his suit.

Unlike Happosai's funeral, he had wanted to look his best for his big sister's wedding, so he used the money he had made teaching classes to buy a brand new suit of his own for the event.

It was a smooth charcoal, and he had even paid to have it tailored so it fit him perfectly. He made extra sure his tie was straight and went to meet Akane in the dojo.

The two of them and Nabiki were to greet guests at the door as Kasumi and Tofu took their seats at a table on top of a temporary stage that had been constructed. Nabiki kept an itemized tally of money gifts as the guests filed in. 

"So do you like the new suit?" Ranma asked Akane as Kasumi's high school friend passed by, handing Nabiki an envelope.

"I already told you I like you in a suit."

"Yeah, but you haven't seen this suit yet."

"Ranma, you can be so vain sometimes."

"What's wrong with that?"

Akane sighed. "You look good, Ranma."

Despite her patronizing tone, he grinned sincerely. "Yeah I do."

Ranma peeked his head around the doorframe to take stock of all the guests lining up. 

"Oh man--Akane look who it is."

Akane looked in the direction he was pointing, then whirled on her heel and glared at Nabiki.

"You invited Kuno?!" she hissed at her sister.

"Okay, first of all," Nabiki said. "He's in half my university classes. He was gonna find out about this event one way or another. Secondly, he has a lot of money."

Nabiki held her hands out and stopped talking, as if it were obvious that was all that needed to be said.

Ranma rolled his eyes, and Kuno was at the door already. Kuno had used to be taller than him, but Ranma's recent growth spurt meant the two young men were eye to eye in this meeting.

"Kuno."

"Saotome."

"Good to see you."

"And you as well."

"Really?"

"I have no more qualms with you, Saotome. I have found attention from many a lovely maiden at university."

"Glad to hear it."

Kuno turned to Akane. Over her head, Ranma made a silent motion, mimicking a punch to his own jaw. Kuno nodded with a stressed expression.

"Akane Tendo. Congratulations on your sister's nuptials."

"Thanks, Kuno!"

"Money please!" Nabiki thrust her open hand out. Kuno graciously deposited a thick envelope into it. Nabiki opened it right in front of him, fanned through the thick stack of bills, and shouted, "Oooh!" quite loudly.

"Nabiki, you know that's for Kasumi and Tofu-sensei, right?" asked Akane.

"I know, I know, " she grumbled, and tucked it away.

"Kuno, one more thing," Ranma said. "Where's your nut bag sister?"

"Don't worry, Saotime, she has found herself another paramour. She has no intention of bothering you again. Ta."

With a nod, Kuno left them to find his table.

"Well, that's good," said Ranma to himself. "But who's the paramour?"

As if on cue, Kodachi chose that moment to bound over the wall into the yard, landing by Konatsu who was helping unload bags of flour from Ukyo's cart. 

"Konatsu-sama!"

"Kodachi, I told you to leave me alone! I've dedicated my life to Ukyo-sama!"

"Is that true?" Hayato asked Ukyo, as he picked up a jar of okonomiyaki sauce.

"I told you I only have eyes for you Hayato," Ukyo replied.

"Ukyo-sama--"

Ranma pulled his head back into the dojo. "Man, I am so glad that I am not a part of that whole situation."

Ryoga was the next guest to turn up, looking dapper, arm in arm with Akari.

"Ryoga."

"Ranma."

"Long time no see."

"Not long enough."

The two boys stared each other down for a long moment before simultaneously bursting into tears and embracing.

"I missed you bro!"

"I missed you too!"

Akane closed her eyes and rubbed one of her temples with her fingers. 

More guests arrived. Kasumi's friends. Distant Tendo relatives--turned out they actually did have a cousin named Ranko. Tofu's patients. And then--

"Toshiko-sensei!" Akane did a little hop and embraced the doctor in a big hug.

"Akane-san, it's wonderful to see you again." Toshiko smiled and turned to Ranma. "Saotome-kun."

"Hey, doc."

"How's the leg?"

"Better than ever."

Toshiko smiled. "I doubt that, but as long as you're feeling okay, that's what's important."

"Sensei, I didn't know you were coming," said Akane. 

"Oh yes, I became quite close with Kasumi and her now husband while they stayed with Ranma in the hospital."

Ranma noticed a petite woman with a mass of curly hair surrounding a pleasantly round face standing slightly behind Toshiko.

"Aah! Shizuka!"

"Ranma-kun!"

They performed an intricate handshake that ended with a thumping of the chest and yelling each other's names in a deep voice. 

"I'm sorry, who is this?" Akane asked.

"This is my partner, Shizuka," said Toshiko.

"It's nice to meet you!" said Shizuka. "Ranma-kun wouldn't shut up about you when he was in the hospital."

"Is that so?" Akane asked Ranma, grinning.

He blushed. "It's an exaggeration."

"Not really," laughed Shizuka.

As she and Toshiko walked away holding hands, a realization dawned on Akane.

"Wait, when she said partner, she meant--"

"There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" Ranma asked. "Two girls in love?"

Akane looked up at him curiously, but his face was turned away. She smiled.

"No," she said. "Nothing at all."

And then there was food. And drinking. And Kasumi changed clothes again, into a simple white party dress, and the speeches started. Tofu's mother praised the width of Kasumi's hips and blessed any potential grandchildren they might bear. Nodoka gave a very sweet speech about how she had come to view Kasumi as her own daughter. Genma offered a simple "congratulations" but his voice sounded uncharacteristically choked with tears. Soun openly wept, partially with joy, partially with the loss of his little girl, and remarked how proud his wife would be if she were there today. Nabiki gave a speech that was less a speech and more of an accounting of exact totals given by all the guests, with suggestions on how to make up for any financial shortfalls. 

Then nearly everyone turned to Akane, expecting her to go next. With everyone's eyes on her, she froze. Her heart was pounding rapidly and her chest felt tight. Not here, in front of all these people.

"It's all right, Akane-san. Breathe."

Toshiko leaned over from the neighboring table and placed a hand on her back in comfort.

Akane nodded and tried to breathe, really, she did, but her chest felt like it was going to explode.

Ranma leaned his head down and whispered to her.

"You want me to do it?"

Gratefully, she grabbed his hand under the table where no one could see.

"Yes. Please."

He nodded and stood up, hopping over the table in one smooth motion. He grabbed the microphone from its stand and leaned against it as he greeted the crowd.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Ranma Saotome. Some of you may be familiar with me."

"Unfortunately!" Ryoga yelled out.

"Don't heckle a wedding speech dude! Have some class! Jeez. As I was saying--"

Ranma pulled at his collar to loosen his tie. He suddenly felt very thirsty.

"I'm Ranma Saotome. Some--okay, all--of you know who I am. And the trouble I've brought into your lives, one way or another."

Ranma took a deep breath and looked around the room.

"I used to move around a lot as a kid, you know? Never stayed in one place for long. And then I came here. And found trouble. And plenty of trouble followed me. But I also found friends. Family. And for the very first time I found--"

He looked directly at Akane.

"Home."

She smiled at him, still visibly shaking, her eyes full of happy tears.

"And despite all the trouble you all have caused me, or I caused you, I'm really happy to know all of you. In this place. Home."

He turned to face the stage where Kasumi and Tofu sat at the head table.

"And a big part of that feeling is because of you two. Kasumi, you're the best big sister a guy could have. Always welcoming, and always calm when life is anything but calm. And Tofu-sensei, even when we first met, you treated me with concern and respect. And honestly that was just really nice. I'm glad to have you as a brother. The two of you are gonna be happy forever."

Ranma grabbed a glass of champagne from a nearby table and held it high in the air.

"Kanpai!"

" _Kanpai_ _!!_ "

The room echoed his toast, and drank, and burst into cheers. Kasumi unexpectedly took a leap from the stage, throwing her arms around Ranma in a hug.

"Thank you so much," she whispered, crying in his ear.

"Ah, it's, ahhh, no problem." Ranma blushed at this unusual display of affection.

And then there was drinking. And singing. And yelling. And drinking. And dancing. Ryoga even had a chance to show off his ballroom skills with Akari, making it clear they had been practicing.

And more drinking. Akane slowly became more comfortable over the course of the evening, but desperately tried to avoid bringing any attention to herself. Ranma kept close to her for the majority of the night until being challenged to an arm wrestling contest by Ryoga. Then Kuno. Then Mousse. His own father. Even Hayato.

Ranma defeated all of them in succession, and they would each go off to drink, and then return drunkenly asking for a rematch. Ranma defeated them all soundly a second time.

And so the drinking continued. Long after the sun had set and night had begun in earnest. Long after Kasumi and Tofu had departed in a cab bound for the airport to be off on their honeymoon. It was a celebration for the whole town and then some.

And when it was late, after a big chunk of the guests had left, Ranma and Akane were the only ones remaining who were still standing.

"I can't believe this," Akane said, stepping over the prone body of Kuno.

"Yeah, everybody got wasted," agreed Ranma, sliding past a pile of sleeping animals that included a duck, a piglet, a cat, and a heavily snoring panda.

He and Akane gingerly made their way to the dojo door. 

"This is gonna be hell to clean up tomorrow," said Ranma.

"It's not so bad," said Akane, and giggled for a second too long as they stepped aside 

"Akane, are you drunk too?"

"What? Noooo! I only had uh, three, flourish? Glasses of champagne." She held up five fingers. 

"Okay, you are drunk," he said as they stepped outside.

"I'm fiii--whoah!"

She stumbled and started to fall on the wooden step. Ranma easily caught her around the waist and smiled smugly.

"What was that?"

"Oh, well, if I am drunk, at least I have a big, strong man who can carry me up to bed."

"So you want me to carry you?"

"Yes please!"

He sighed and hooked one arm under her knees, lifting her up into his arms. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest.

"It's chilly," she muttered.

"It's fall."

Ranma entered the house and stepped over Soun in the back hallway.

"Stay with me tonight?"

"You know I will."

He stepped over Nabiki, slumped against the stair railing.

"No funny business, though."

"Of course not, you're drunk." 

He began to climb the stairs.

"Just sleep?"

"Just sleep."

The majority of their nights together had been just sleep. Even the times they got a little frisky, Akane tended to become shy at the last minute before they went all the way.

Mostly, they slept. It was always easier when they were together. Although Ranma waited until the rest of the house was asleep to sneak in through her window. But since everyone was in no condition to notice, tonight he could go in right through her bedroom door.

So that's what he did.

Ranma moved to set her down on the bed.

"No, I can stand."

He let her feet drop gently, still resting a hand on her back.

"I'm fine, Ranma, really."

He nodded and took a seat on her bed and started undressing.

Akane removed her hairpins and shook her hair loose.

"Ugh, I can't wait till I get all this off!"

Ranma nodded and tried to keep his gaze averted as she removed her kimono. He was down to his tank top and boxers pretty quickly, and it took her a minute to change into a tank top and soft pair of shorts. As she opened her closet door to hang up her kimono temporarily, Ranma noticed a familiar flash of yellow fabric.

"Akane?"

"Yeah?"

"Your gi--"

"This?" She pulled her gi off the hanger and out of the closet and handed it to him. "What about it?"

He leaned back in her bed, lifting the covers so she could join him. 

"How come you never wear it anymore?"

"Oh, it's silly," she replied. She climbed into bed next to Ranma and leaned her head against his chest, her ear to his heart. She reached out and turned it over. "It just has a big rip in it, that's all."

Ranma put one arm around Akane and held her close. With his free hand, he let the ripped fabric fall over his palm, feeling the frayed edges of the material with his fingers.

"Don't worry," he said. "I can mend it."


	27. Author's Notes

Forgive me, for putting the notes into a chapter by themselves. But this way, you can easily avoid them and click away.

But here it is. Complete. 

Just under 72,000 words.

The year is 2020, I am 33 years old, and over the past 3 months, I have written 72,000 words of Ranma ½ fanfiction. The longest piece of writing I have ever produced. 

Do I feel proud? Yes, absolutely. A little embarrassed? That, too. But I set out to do it, and I did it.

In March, our state entered a semi-lockdown state due to the advancement of COVID-19. I was laid off from my job for what was then an unknown period of time. Suddenly, I had all the free time in the world, but nowhere to go. I cleaned my house. I read books. I practiced the ukulele. I took up yoga. And one morning, I woke up, thinking about Ranma ½.

I was 13 years old when I first discovered Ranma ½, so it’s been a part of my life for over 20 years now. In the last year of middle school and throughout all of high school, I was completely obsessed and would not shut up about it. Even on my 19th birthday, I felt a bit of depression for being so old, since I was now “as old as Kasumi.” Which, looking back on that moment from my 30s, what a dumb idiot baby I was. 

Ranma ½ is a show with a deeply complicated legacy. But if you’re reading this, you know that already. It’s a piece of media over 30 years old, from another culture. Yet honestly it is still problematic, and at times outright offensive. However, it brought me comfort as a child, in a way few things in my life did at the time. 

So during this quarantine, when my life felt unmoored in a way that it hadn't in years, my brain searched back for nostalgia and mental comfort food. 

And so I reread the entire manga.

And I rewatched nearly the entire anime. 

And I remembered feeling frustrated, just like I did when I was younger, that the ending of Ranma ½ resolves absolutely nothing. 

So I would give it an ending. 

The end result was this massive monster of a piece of fanfiction. Of course there are longer fanfics, longer novels, in the world, but this is the longest thing I have ever written. And I wrote it to conform to what I wanted to read, and hit all the tropes I love so much. So there’s comedy, action, romance, tragedy, found family, it’s all there. 

Obviously, it’s also deeply personal. I was diagnosed with PTSD earlier this year. And I think I made it clear in the story that Ranma and Akane suffer from PTSD as well. Even within the canon, Ranma clearly has a lot of weird anxieties, and suffers trauma from his experience learning the Nekoken. And Akane, within canon, is paranoid, insecure, and sometimes melancholic. After the events that happen at the end of the manga, it made sense to me that the issues they already suffer from would be exacerbated. 

And I knew this would be Akane’s story eventually. Near the beginning, I tried to keep the narrative’s POV away from her, focusing on Ryoga, then Ranma. Because I knew eventually we would be spending a lot of time with Akane, in her head, finally seeing things from her point of view. But we end with seeing things with Ranma, because after all, the name of the story is Ranma ½. But I always identified a lot with Akane growing up, and as an adult, I actually identify more than I expected with Ranma. Those two kids are honestly perfect for each other. 

And then there’s Ryoga, whomst I love. He’s badass but also a total dingus. He also has one of the greatest character traits ever written in fiction--his bad sense of direction. It’s complete genius, as it allows him to enter and exit a story with no long winded explanations. And it’s so distinct, that if you saw another character with such a bad sense of direction, you would immediately assume they were an homage or ripoff of Ryoga. 

As for Ranma and Ryoga’s relationship--well, recently I learned the term “two halves of a whole idiot,” and damn, if that doesn’t sum them right up. I deliberately tried to play to that within this story as well. Even though Ranma ½ isn’t explicit in its character development, throughout the course of canon, Ryoga and Ranma do grow. They start out as enemies, then rivals, then friendly rivals, then I would argue that they are just straight out friends by the end. At the very end of the manga, Ryoga not only helps Ranma in earnest with his fight against Saffron, he does choose to give up on Akane and focus on his actual girlfriend. 

So Ryoga and Ranma become best friends in this story, although really they already were. But they’ll always be a little antagonistic towards each other, because it’s just their nature. 

And Akane--poor Akane. I gave her a major power-up, not only because it was important to the story, but also because she has been through hell, and I put her through more. I also hope that I made it clear that just having Ranma isn’t going to instantly solve all her problems, that she needed outside help, like a doctor and her friends, to start the healing process. And that by the end of the story, she’s still not done, and has work to do, but is overall happy. She deserves some happiness.

Some random notes:

Continuity is fluid! The things I liked in the anime/manga are canon, the things I don't like, aren't. Simple as that!

Killing Happosai off was a great decision. During my reread/rewatch, my eyes glazed over for most of the parts he was in, because he sucks and is annoying. Writing his funeral was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. 

I used honorifics (a tiny bit inconsistently) because I rewatched the anime primarily subtitled. The Ranma ½ dub isn’t bad at all, usually, but to me, Kappei Yamaguchi just is Ranma. I tried not to use too much other random Japanese. Ryoga’s chant when he’s choosing which tunnel to walk through is basically “eeny, meeny, minie, mo.” 

I also tried to not include too much slang or phrasing that would be hard or impossible to translate from English into Japanese. Of course, there are a couple of moments where I did feel an f-bomb was appropriate.

Akane’s translation of “Highway to the Danger Zone” is mostly correct, although since she’s drunk, she uses the English word for zone since she can’t think of the Japanese. 

The song Ryoga, Ranma, and Akane sing while drunk in the street is 明日があるさ, a comedic song from the 60’s, about a guy who sees the same girl at the train station every day but never manages to talk to her. He consoles himself by saying “There’s always tomorrow.” I tweaked the translation just a tiny bit, as “There’s always tomorrow after all” fits the wistful tone of the song, and honestly it would just fit the rhythm of the music. So that’s neat!

The classical music playing in the park is “Clair de Lune” by Debussy. 

On my reread, I found myself hating Ukyo less than I did in high school and mostly just finding her boring. I surprised myself being so nice to her in this piece, but everybody deserves redemption. Shampoo, on my reread, I found to be much more interesting and cunning than I remembered. I wish I had done more with her in this story, but I honestly don’t think I could do her justice. 

I had a very different idea for Toshiko’s Jusenkyo curse originally, but I’m glad that I went the way I did. 

I actively tried to make this fic less problematic than the original canon. Killing off Happosai helped a lot, due to all the sex crimes. 

I wrote the entire thing in comic sans font. It helps, I’m telling you, to write in comic sans. 

The medical stuff is probably wildly inaccurate. Do not take medical advice from a fanfiction! I just wrote whatever fit with the story. 

I have two sequels planned for this, lol. While this is definitely a complete story, I would like to continue telling my version of these characters for a while. And if the sequel gets done, it will overall be a much more lighthearted piece than this one. 

I guess that’s it. I hope you appreciated all this navel gazing. I hope you liked the story. I wrote these thoughts out quickly, so I can go back and edit now. Please, take care of yourself. Be kind to yourself. 

Take a deep breath. Have a cup of tea. 

It’s not the end, yet. Together, we will see it through.


End file.
